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ECONOMY IN THE 
KITCHEN 



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Economy in 
the Kitchen 



^^c,J BY 

j; F. BREAZEALE 



PRICE ONE DOLLAR 



FRYE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

15 West 1 07th Street 

NEW YOEK CITY 



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Copyrighted 1918 
J. F, BREAZEALB 



JUN -7 (918 



©GLA497623 



INTRODUCTION 



DURING the last decade the scientists of the 
I United States Department of Agriculture, and 
the state experiment stations, as well as other 
workers along agricultural lines, have been devoting 
much time and thought to the needs of the American 
farmer. Whether or not he has availed himself of it is 
another question, but certain it is that at present he 
needs little, in the way of information on the manage- 
ment of his farm, that ls not available, but the housewife 
upon the farm is not so fortunate. Although she is 
usually more inclined to accept good advice, and prob- 
ably needs information more than her husband, she 
somehow does not get it. The housekeeping magazines 
and other periodicals are not addressed to her, and if 
she attempts to read a few cook books, she is likely to 
end up with a vague suspicion that the authors have 
probably never kept house, and have never even tried 
their own recipes. The works on domestic science fail 
to reach her, as the \\Tnters upon such subjects usually 
write to the woman vnth means, the housewife who can 
afford to buy things, and not to the woman who is 
obliged to do with the things which she already has on 
hand. They overlook the fact that probably the major- 
ity of the housewives in this country are standing upon 
board floors and doing their own work. 

7 



8 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

My early life upon the farm has given me the view- 
point of the farmer's wife, who usually has but little 
and who spends most of her time in the kitchen, and my 
greatest desire in life is to help this busy little woman, 
for it is she, and not the woman with the dog in the 
automobile, who is the balance wheel of this nation. 
During the years that I have spent in the United States 
Department of Agriculture, I have published many arti- 
cles in which I hoped to help the housewife on the farm. 
That these efforts were appreciated is proved by the 
many letters that I have received from all sections of 
the country. It is from these letters that I, in part, have 
learned what the housewife wants to know, and this little 
book is, in the main, an answer to these letters. 

This is not a cook book, and I do not pose as an 
authority on domestic science. I do not expect to teach 
women how to keep house, but I do hope, in an informal 
and homely kind of a way, to bring more system into the 
household, to lessen the steps of the housewife and to 
inspire her with some new ideas of economy. This book 
is meant to be different and in every item the "reasons 
why" have been brought out. It is largely a description 
of my own experience. The canning of vegetables and 
fruits, which I so emphasize, has meant so much to me, 
from the standpoint of health, economy and labor saving, 
that it is no wonder that I have become a little enthusi- 
astic over it and probably over anxious to tell other 
people about it. During the last few years I have had 
occasion to teach many housewives how to can. While 
some of these think it is too much trouble, the great 
majority become enthusiastic too, and want to can every- 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



thing in sight. They tell their neighbors about it and 
they go to canning too. This goes to show that the right 
kind of economy is contagious in much the same way 
as whooping cough or chicken pox. 

It is with a feeling of apology that I use the term 
"I" so often, but in a work of this kind it is almost 
impossible to omit this form of expression. In the duties 
of our household I am not ''chief cook" by any means. 
My wife is mistress of her kitchen, and in most cases 
I am but a helper. She has been the prime mover in this 
work, and we have agreed in everything except in some 
small details. She insists upon using a dish rag, while 
I think that such an article should be prohibited by law ; 
she thinks that the harder water boils the hotter it gets, 
while I do not; but beyond such small differences of 
opinion we have worked together harmoniously, and the 
reader can take it that the term "I" in the majority of 
cases is meant to mean "we." 

I might add that I practice what I preach. I can 
go into a kitchen and cook as complete a dinner as almost 
any woman. I can make good bread, can vegetables, 
preserve fruits, make good butter, prepare all kinds of 
salads, or make mayonnaise dressing, and my little chil- 
dren eat my cooking in preference to their mother's. 
Such work is my recreation and I try to do it with the 
same cleanliness and system that 1 use in making a 
chemical analysis. And last but not least, I can wash 
up the dishes and keep the kitchen clean generally. 

In my twelve years' sojourn in boarding houses, a 
common complaint made against me was that I could 
not be kept out of the kitchen. I tell this only to show 



10 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

my interest in kitchen affairs, and do not wish to be held 
in any way responsible for the boarding house cooking. 

So these words of advice to the housewife go out from 
one who does not think that he knows it all, from one 
who is willing to learn, and whose one redeemable qual- 
ity is that he takes interest in the home and likes to 
" fix up " around the house. 



OLD-FASHIONED THRIFT 

I am a great believer in old-fashioned thrift. The 
man who makes two blades of grass grow where only 
one grew before, is only half a benefactor. An old 
adage says that such a man is worth the w^iole race of 
politicians, but, while this may be true, it is not saying 
any too much for him. One who produces and wastes 
is little better than one who does not produce at all. 
The habit of taking care of things that come your way 
is what I call old-fashioned thrift. 

The average American farmer probably does not 
exist, as our great diversity in agriculture makes it 
almost impossible to draw an average, but the average 
farmer's wife does exist, and although she is probably 
more thrifty than her husband, and probably more so 
than her sisters in the city, she has yet to learn a few 
lessons in economy. 

From actual statistics we know that, in a prosperous 
agricultural state like Ohio, after allowing the farmers 
5 per cent interest on the money they have invested in 
their farms, that 60 per cent of them are making less 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 11 

than their hired help — and this is one of the best states 
in the Union. My experience in Virginia makes me 
think that probably 90 per cent of the farmers there are 
not making any more than a living off of their farms. 
During the last year or two, owing to the abnormal price 
of foodstuffs and such articles as cotton, many farmers 
have made some money, but this does not represent aver- 
age conditions, and is certainly not what can be expected 
in the future. I do not believe that the average Amer- 
ican farmer, if such a person exists, is making more than 
a living off of his farm. 

Now, the average housewife on the farm attends to 
the garden and produces enough vegetables to supply 
the family during the summer, she takes care of the 
chickens and sells eggs and her surplus stock, and she 
makes butter and sells what the family does not use. 
The average housewife feeds the family, and if it were 
not for her the average farmer would come out in debt 
every year. But the average farmer does not know 
this; my experience with him makes me believe that he 
thinks he is the most important person on the ranch. He 
does not keep books, he is not thrifty, and he underesti- 
mates his wife's part of the work upon the farm. No 
piece of labor saving machinery is too good for him, yet 
he seldom thinks that his wife would probably like to 
have a good range or a kitchen cabinet to lighten her 
work. If he is not prosperous with all of his advan- 
tages, he deserves little sympathy. My sympathies are 
with the housewife, and my interest in her welfare will, 
therefore, justify my criticisms of her. She is not sys- 
tematic, she does not like to use her own judgment, she 



12 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

likes to do things by rule of thumb, which is usually the 
longest and hardest way, instead of studying the "rea- 
sons why." She thinks she is economical when she is 
not; she wastes her time, her labor and her steps. She 
has come to look upon her task as mere drudgery instead 
of realizing that it is a noble calling. She is often dis- 
contented, thinking that drudgery is a part of a woman 's 
duty, when it is not. 

Now, the first sign of progress is a realization of one 's 
own shortcomings, so, if the housewife will begin by 
realizing some of her mistakes, she is on the highroad 
toward the betterment of her condition. I am not yet a 
graduate in the school of useful experience myself. I 
am probably only a few lessons ahead of the average 
housewife. 

Many housewives think they are economical, and so 
they may be, but comparatively few are thrifty. One 
can be economical in a few things and yet lack the essen- 
tial principles of thrift. I know many women who have 
"pet economies." They economize with butter, with 
sugar or with bread, and yet manage to spend every 
cent their husbands make in foolish extravagance. Such 
economy is absurd and gives one a feeling of scarcity. 
Thrift is the elimination of waste. There are general 
principles, of course, that can be given, but as an applied 
science it is after all an individual problem. There can 
be no shifting of responsibility — a good share of the 
high cost of living rests with the individual housewife. 
With nearly all of us at one time or another we will have 
to be economical, either from choice or necessity. "With 
me economy began with necessity and now it has become 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 13 

a matter of choice, and, take it from, me, it is much better 
to be economical from choice than from necessity. 

I never saw a thrifty person in want in all my life. 
The well to do people are usually thrifty, and conversely 
the thrifty are well to do. You can drive by a farm- 
house and tell whether or not the farmer is thrifty. 
Thrift carries an atmosphere with it that is unmistak- 
able. The white-washed fences, the gates that are all 
on their hinges, the "trim" appearance of the place in 
general, speak of thrift. The lack of thrift is character- 
istic of poor people, and this fact is really what makes 
them poor. 

I once had a neighbor in Virginia who was so poor 
that she always carried a look of poverty around with 
her, although her husband got good wages for a laboring 
man. Once I had occasion to employ this woman for a 
short time, and she had not been in my kitchen but a few 
days when I found out why she was so poor. She would 
peel away probably 30 per cent of a potato in preparing 
it for the table, she would forget and leave the food in 
the oven to bum, and do many other things that would 
bring poverty into any household. Iler lack of thrift 
had made her poor and was keeping her in the same 
condition. She was an exaggerated type and would 
probably come under the head of "shiftless," and the 
cause of her poverty was easily seen, but with the house- 
wife who is not actually in want, but who always seems 
a little "hard run," the "reasons why" are not so plain. 
She may work hard and have little, and this is often 
attributed to poor business management, when really it 
is only a lack of thrift. She probably would not peel 



14 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

away 30 per cent of a potato, yet she would waste 
enough in small amounts to make the difference between 
plenty and scarcity. For example, she is making gravy. 
She goes to the flour bin and dips up a little flour, thick- 
ens her gravy and has a little flour left over. This she 
throws away and dusts her hands off on her apron, with- 
out even thinking that she is extravagant. The thrifty 
housewife would have put the left over flour back in the 
bin, and the housewife who combines both system and 
thrift would have had a dredge convenient even if she 
had been obliged to make it herself by punching holes 
in the top of a baking powder can, and so would have 
used only as much flour as was necessary. Thus many 
housewives seem to get along and to have plenty, 
although they may have very little money to spend. 
This is because they are thrifty in every little detail. 

The negroes of the South, as a class, are lacking in 
thrift, and at one time or another nearly all of them are 
depending upon charity for subsistence. However, one 
sometimes stands out from among his brothers as a 
thrifty individual. These are usually of the old slavery 
time school. I have in mind an old negro on my farm 
in Virginia who never wasted a penny. He made no 
more than his brothers, yet, while they were begging 
for bread during the winter, he had plenty to eat, good 
clothes and a little money in the bank. He was thrifty 
and they were not; he took care of what he made, and 
they, in times of plenty, wasted more than their white 
employers. 

As a nation the Chinese stand out as an example of 
thrift. Owing to the dense population and the hard 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 15 

struggle for existence, thriftiness has become a national 
characteristic. At the present time an individual in 
China who is not thrifty will soon starve. Economy is 
born in them, and even upon coming to this country they 
never lose it. We Americans are the most extravagant 
people on earth, and while it may not be necessary, or 
even advisable, to imitate the Chinese in their manner of 
living, we can at least draw a lesson from them. They 
are economical from necessity, and it behooves us to be 
economical from choice, rather than to be forced to be 
so from necessity. We are at the height of our national 
existence, living is easy and now is the time to economize. 

Cook no more than is necessary. The cook books are 
full of suggestions as to what to do with "left overs" 
when there should be no left overs. "Left overs" sug- 
gest waste. The housewife who cooks six extra pota- 
toes for dinner with the expectation of frying them for 
breakfast the next morning is planning ahead, but the 
housewife who aimlessly cooks more than she needs of 
anything and has a little left over, will probably throw 
it into the garbage pail. 

You could leave off your "pet economy" and no one 
would ever notice it. It makes little difference in the 
expense of the household whether you use three pounds 
of butter or three pounds and a half a week, and your 
economy in one detail only makes you ridiculous. Look 
ahead and exercise watchful care over all your expendi- 
tures. 

In the present national food crisis it is the duty of 
every housewife to economize in whatever way she can, 
but after all it is the housewife on the farm who holds 



16 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

the key to the situation. The average housewife in the 
city, whose husband is working on a moderate salary, 
has probably economized all she can. The necessary 
expenses of a family in the city nowadays usually take 
practically all of the average man's salary and there is 
nothing left for extravagance, and has not been for a 
good many years. The city housewife can probably 
economize by cutting down the amount of food for the 
family, if this can be called economy, but this certainly 
will not amount to very much. However, the housewife 
on the farm can economize by saving that which ordi- 
narily goes to waste, which in the aggregate will amount 
to enough to feed a considerable part of this nation. 

It is said that the successful business man is the man 
who never wastes anything, and this saying applies 
equally well to the housewife, for housekeeping is a 
business. There is no need for anyone to want for the 
necessities in this life, as there is plenty here for us all. 
Be thrifty and avail yourself of it. 



SYSTEM 

Closely allied with thrift is system. "While a house- 
wife may be very systematic and yet be lacking in thrift, 
it is almost impossible to conceive of one possessing thrift 
and lacking in system. System alone is sometimes a poor 
quality to possess, and is oftentimes a bore, but when 
combined with thrift it is one of the most essential prin- 
ciples of good housekeeping. 

By system is not meant the monotonous grinding out 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 17 



of the regular duties of the household. The housewife 
who, with set determination, invariably does her washing 
upon Monday, her ironing upon Tuesday, and her other 
duties upon regulation days is not necessarily sys- 
tematic. System does not mean sameness, as many 
household economists would teach. By system is meant 
a scientific adjustment of resources, time and energy. 
Routine is not system. A housewife may do her wash- 
ing upon Thursday of one week, and if necessary upon 
Friday of the next week, and yet be systematic. The 
"reasons why" and not worn out traditions should be 
the governing principles of housekeeping. 

System is often a measure of efficiency and it fits into 
housekeeping just as it does into business. A business 
that is not run upon a systematic basis is almost sure to 
fail. There are experts whose whole duty it is to sys- 
tematize business. They command good salaries and it is 
quite customary for big concerns to make use of their 
services in order to get the most efficient work out of 
their employees. They aim to fit the different parts of 
an organization together, to systematize it and thus 
secure coordination in much the same way as a jeweler 
would fit together the running gear of a watch. In this 
way they eliminate useless work and wasted energy. A 
business may be dependent upon any number of outside 
influences, but to be successful it must be complete 
within itself and systematic. The business of house- 
keeping is a complete business and the different parts 
need adjustment and systematizing in much the same 
way as any other business. System, like thrift, should 
enter into the smallest details of housekeeping, there- 



18 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

fore to the housewife it becomes an individual problem. 
The fundamental principles are, however, exactly the 
same, whether it is big business or plain housekeeping. 
The business man plans to get the maximum efficiency 
with the minimum amount of expense and the housewife 
should plan likewise. It has been my experience that 
system is the crying need of the American housemfe. 

In a properly adjusted piece of machinery there is 
no "lost motion," and the same might be said of a well 
regulated kitchen. Drudgery is but another name for 
"lost motion," and the only way to eliminate drudgery 
is to first eliminate "lost motion." The average house- 
wife is not using her time or energy to the best advan- 
tage. The ability to plan ahead, to do two things at one 
time, to make one trip across the kitchen accomplish 
what two had done before — this will bring the so-called 
"swing" into the kitchen work and will eliminate 
drudgery or "lost motion." 

Being an individual problem, it is almost impossible 
to lay down hard and fast rules for systematizing the 
kitchen. The balancing of accounts at the end of the 
week, or the hanging up of a slate in the kitchen for 
outlining the daily tasks, as is often advocated, may help 
some, but such schemes as these do not alone constitute 
system. 

After all, system consists largely of three elements : 

First — In knowing what you are trying to accom- 
plish. 

Second — In thinking about what you are doing as 
you go along. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 19 

Third — In knowing in advance what you are going to 
need. 

These elements may seem a little abstract to some 
housewives, but they have an every day application. All 
three may be illustrated in the baking of bread. In 
the baking of bread the housewife should know some of 
the elementary principles upon which she is working, 
she should keep in mind that she is growing a yeast 
plant in her dough, that this plant is using up the sugar 
and starch of the flour, and is forming carbonic acid gas, 
that this gas is mixing with the dough and making it 
light, and that when enough gas has been generated to 
get the dough in the proper condition she must stop the 
growth of the yeast by heating the dough or baking the 
bread. She must not wait until the dough is ready to 
mold into loaves before preparing and greasing her pans, 
neither must she wait until the pans are ready to put 
into the oven before she builds a fire in the grate. She 
must know in advance what she is going to need and 
must have things ready. The housewife may do all 
these things properly in the case of the baking of bread, 
and yet fall do^Mi upon one of the same essential prin- 
ciples in some of the smaller details of housekeeping. It 
is an easy matter to give a long list of "don'ts," but 
housewives are somewhat like children, they seldom 
profit by ''don'ts. " Housewives and children need posi- 
tive and not negative instructions. 

My years of work in a chemical laboratory have 
taught me a few principles that all housewives should 
know. A chemist must have developed in him an appre- 
ciation of system, he must know how to do two things 



20 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

at a time before he can hope to succeed. He must appre- 
ciate neatness, and must keep things clean as he goes 
along. He must know what he is doing and must under- 
stand the "reasons why" or else he will never do good 
work. A chemist who tries to work by rule of thumb 
will never get anywhere. Now, a kitchen is nothing but 
a chemical laboratory; you may not have the delicate 
balances, or the reagents to work with, but it is a chem- 
ical laboratory just the same, for all kinds of cooking, 
bread making, canning or preserving are but chemical 
processes. I do not mean to convey the idea that a 
woman must have a knoAvledge of chemistry before she 
can hope to be a good cook, but I do want to impress the 
fundamental idea of thinking what you are doing and 
of working intelligently. 

I would build a kitchen upon the same plan as a 
chemical laboratory and run it upon the same principles. 
A good chemist will never let soiled dishes accumulate 
on his work table or in his sink; when he is through 
with a vessel he washes it out and hangs it up to dry. 
If the housewife would imitate him in this respect alone 
it would be a great help. Wash up the cooking utensils 
as you go along and hang them up out of the way. Have 
a place for everything and keep everything in its place. 
A chemist will never allow unnecessary things to accu- 
mulate in his laboratory, and the housewife should imi- 
tate him in this particular. Put everything out of the 
kitchen that does not belong there. Unless the house- 
wife is continually on the alert, unnecessary things seem 
to have a tendency to accumulate in the kitchen and 
under her feet. One often sees kitchens where almost 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 21 

one-half of the contents belong in the attic or in the 
barn. Everything, from old clothes to plow points, or 
pieces of harness, have been left there in the way of the 
cook. This is poor economy and only adds to the steps 
of the housewife. Clean out the kitchen and keep it 
clean. 

Ordinarily a chemist adds enough of a reagent, an 
acid or an alkali, to get a reaction and never thinks of 
how much the recipe calls for. The methods or recipes 
are necessary, as they furnish a principle or working 
basis, but the little details are always left to the indi- 
vidual worker, and it is these little details that count for 
so much. In the same way a good cook adds her salt 
or her spices until she knows in reason that the dish is 
sure to taste good. It is said that the best cooks never 
use cook books — they think what they are doing. I have 
in mind a woman who was probably the best cook I ever 
knew. I don't believe she ever possessed a cook book, 
and she never followed a recipe. It was impossible to 
find out from her exactly how she did anj'thing. "Oh," 
she would say, ' ' I add a little of this and a little of that 
until I think it is properly seasoned." She seemed to 
have an intuition which told her what to do, but in real- 
ity she knew exactly what she wanted to accomplish and 
she was thinking about what she was doing. The few 
recipes that will be given hereafter do not necessarily 
represent the perfect way of doing things, and it is 
earnestly hoped that the housewife will use them as a 
working basis only, and use her ingenuity in improving 
upon them. I do not always follow my own recipes, but 
take "short cuts" whenever possible. 



22 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

Study your housekeeping as you would any other sub- 
ject. I do not mean that it is necessary for you to study 
how to kindle a fire or such details as are often put 
down in works on domestic science, as these are the A, 
B, C's that 3'ou should already know, but think more 
of the principles involved and work upon that basis. It 
is not a difficult matter to see the principle when once 
you look for it. There is a principle in everything you 
do, and it is these simple fundamentals that every house- 
wife knows, but the knowledge of which she fails to 
use, that make such a difference in housekeeping. The 
very simplest piece of cookery, such as the boiling of 
an egg, has a principle involved. In this case it is 
largely a matter of heat penetration. When putting an 
egg into boiling water, make a mental note of its size, and 
this will give you an idea of the length of time required 
for the heat to penetrate to the interior. After a little 
practice, you will become adept and can tell almost 
exactly when to take it out in order to have it soft or 
hard boiled. Three minutes is not an invariable rule for 
cooking a soft boiled egg. 

If a man should conduct his business as his father 
or grandfather did, the chances are that he would fail. 
He must keep up to date. What a successful business 
man wants is an idea, and he will work out all the details. 
The housewife should do likewise. A woman who will 
ask you how much salt you mean when you say, "Salt 
to taste," will never get anywhere in cookery unless 
she gets herself out of this habit. 

Ordinarily I advise housewives to follow directions 
implicitly, for few of them are inclined to think what 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 23 

they are doing. They are apt to be careless and will 
omit small but important details. Get yourself out of 
this habit, study the "reasons why" and it will save 
you many failures and many steps. Think more about 
what you are doing and less about what the recipe calls 
for. This is a part of good management as working 
by rote is poor system. Herein lies my greatest objec- 
tion to cook books; they have a tendency to cause a 
woman to lose her individuality in cooking. The recipes 
are all right if properly used, but for general cooking 
they should be used as a working basis and the indi- 
viduality of the cook allowed to assert itself. The com- 
mercial baker in his bakeshop must follow a recipe, for 
his great aim is uniformity in his product. He must 
control every condition possible in order to keep his 
bread the same day after day, but uniformity is not what 
we want in a kitchen. Did you ever notice that the 
cooking of a good cook tastes different every day ? Try 
uniform cooking upon your children for a few days and 
see if they do not get tired of it. What we want in the 
kitchen is variety or the so-called "spice." 

You will not have to sacrifice anything for system, 
for system brings order and comfort. Ask yourself if 
your management of your kitchen is really economical 
and systematic, and try out any schemes that suggest 
themselves that might improve it. System is something 
that may be acquired. If you are a poor manager and 
hard run, it is probably due to the fact that somebody 
is not systematic. Banish poverty from your home — 
you can do it with system and old fashioned thrift. 



24 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



THE KITCHEN 

Usually the least desirable room in the house is set 
aside for the kitchen. The architect of the home may 
spend much time in planning the parlor or living room 
of a house, overlooking entirely the fact that the greater 
part of the daily life of the housewife is spent in the 
kitchen. A convenient, well regulated kitchen will do 
much to insure the comfort of the family and therefore 
should receive first consideration in planning the home. 
The kitchen is the woman's workshop, and it has been 
truthfully said, "A smiling kitchen makes a happy 
cook." 

The large, rambling kitchen of our grandmothers, 
with its big closets, storerooms and pantries, with its high 
ceilings and heavy oak beams stained with smoke, and 
with an occasional spiderweb, with its strings of onions 
and herbs hung from its walls, with its long rows of 
brass, copper and pewter saucepans and pots that 
required tremendous effort to keep clean; with its wide 
fireplace full of sooty hooks and cranes that hung from 
some mysterious place above, is a thing of the past. 

There was another kitchen of the olden times, com- 
mon throughout the South, a little one-room cabin built 
of logs, situated under the shade of some big tree, at 
least fifty yards from the "big house," and usually pre- 
sided over by a colored cook almost as large as the cabin 
itself. She was queen of her domain and was held in 
awe both by the mistress and by the younger genera- 
tion. It was around this kitchen door that the little 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 25 

slave babies from the "quarters" down by the spring 
played and were "looked after" by "Black Mammy," 
while their own mothers wove homespun in the attic of 
the ' ' big house, ' ' Here, too, was the gathering place of 
the grown-up negroes from the plantation on moonlight 
evenings. This kitchen has long ago tumbled down, and 
exists only in romance. It was practical in its day and 
had many good features to justify its existence. 

With our grandmothers housekeeping was a business. 
They usually had plenty of help, and time then was not 
considered as valuable as it is today. 

At the present time most housewives are forced to do 
all or a part of their own work, hence the development 
of the modern kitchen. The kitchen of today should be 
convenient, well lighted, well ventilated, easy to keep 
clean, comfortable and attractive. It often has to serve 
both as dining room and sitting room, therefore it should 
be cheerful. A well appointed kitchen should be the 
most attractive room in the house, and not merely the 
place where the cooking is done and where the dishes are 
washed. 

The w^riters on domestic economy in recent years, 
almost without exception, advocate a small, compact 
kitchen. Theoretically this is all right, as it saves a 
housewife steps, and step-saving is the keynote of the 
modern kitchen. It must be remembered, however, that 
steps may be saved without sacrificing room, light or ven- 
tilation. By arranging a large kitchen so that the con- 
veniences in most common use are placed as near together 
as possible, the housewife can economize steps and still 
have the freedom of the rest of the room. There is a 



26 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

feeling of luxury and a suggestion of comfort in a big, 
roomy kitchen, that is cool in summer and warm in 
winter. It is almost impossible to ventilate a small 
kitchen well enough in summer to keep it cool. I prefer 
to cling to the old style of the big room with the high 
ceiling that reminds one of the old-time kitchen on the 
farm. My kitchen is 1 6 by 20 feet, with a 9-foot ceiling, 
and it is not any too large. There are times in the 
summer, during the rush of work of the canning season, 
when nearly all of this space is needed. 

A few years ago I bought an old plantation in Vir- 
ginia. The dwelling house and outbuildings were char- 
acteristic of an old, run-down farm, and it took a person 
of somewhat optimistic frame of mind to see the possi- 
bilities of making the farmhouse habitable. However, as 
I had spent part of my early life in somewhat the same 
kind of a house, I knew it was possible to live in it. It 
is sometimes cheaper to pull do\ni an old house and put 
up a new one in its stead, but to me there was something 
fascinating about remodeling that old house, and I did it. 
It was during this work that I got my first experience 
in arranging a kitchen upon scientific lines, and when 
it was all over I was a little bit proud of my efforts. I 
found it was possible to have as neat and as convenient 
a kitchen in the country as in the city. 

All who try to remodel an old kitchen will find that 
difficulties will arise, due to previous construction, that 
will make it practically impossible to follow out the 
original working plan and make a perfect job of it. I 
found this so and therefore the reader will have to par- 
don me if I theorize in some respects in order to make 
the working plan coincide with what really happened. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 27 

Fig. 1 represents the working plan of my remodeled 
kitchen. Previous to the rearrangement it was a fair 
representative of the ordinary farm kitchen, in which 
little thought had been given to convenience. The stove 
was in the center, and the other pieces of furniture scat- 
tered about the room, which involved miles of steps 
during the preparation of a meal. Fortunately the 
kitchen here had the right exposure, facing the north, 
thus allowing the windows on the east and west sides to 
furnish an excellent cross draft. 

The floor which, preferabl}^, should have been of hard- 
wood, was covered with linoleum, which is without doubt 
the best floor covering for the kitchen, the only objection 
being that it seems cold to stand on. This was obviated 
by placing a few washable rag rugs where there was 
much standing to be done. 

For the walls a wainscoting, painted a light brown, 
three feet high was put in. The space above the 
wainscoting, as well as the ceiling, was painted a light 
buff with enamel paint. This may be readily washed 
or cleaned with a wall broom. The color of the kitchen 
wall should be determined by the amount of light in the 
room. Yery dark kitchens require light walls and ceil- 
ings, while very light kitchens may be painted in darker 
colors. 

The windows were thirty-four inches above the floor. 
They were extended to the ceiling and arranged to pull 
dovra from the top. When heated, air always expands 
and therefore rises and, ordinarily, accumulates against 
the ceiling. If the windows do not extend all the way 
up a pocket is formed against the ceiling, which often 



28 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

gets over ten degrees hotter than the lower part of the 
room. By extending the windows upward and pulling 
down the sashes, a cross draft will sweep the heated air 
out and keep the kitchen cool. The odors of cooking 
also escape in this way. Roller shades and screens of a 
good quality were placed at the windows. The outside 
window, near the sink and drain board, was designed to 
give light for the dishwashing. Above the sink is 
another window, opening into the pantry, and closed 
with a glass slide, at the base of which is a shelf wide 
enough to hold the dishes that come in from the dining 
room to be washed and returned to the pantry shelves. 

The doors between the dining room and kitchen were 
made to swing both ways and each had a small glass 
panel placed in the center. They may be easily opened 
by any one with both hands full, while the glass panels 
prevent collisions, by enabling persons to see one 
another when going in the opposite direction. 

The range was then moved over to the side next to 
the dining room, and a sink and kitchen cabinet placed 
in the positions shown in the diagram. Many of the 
conveniences which will hereafter be mentioned were 
then installed, but the fundamental idea of the re- 
arrangement was the placing of those conveniences that 
are in most common use, the range, sink and cabinet, 
close to the dining room door and as close together as 
possible. 

Whether or not a house is supplied with running 
water, a sink is one of the necessities of the kitchen. 
The galvanized iron sink, with one hundred feet of drain 
pipe in the house costs only $6. A porcelain lined or 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



29 



enameled sink, while a little more expensive, is much 
more desirable. The plumbing below the sink and drain 




Fig. 2 



board was left open to avoid furnishing a hiding place 
for bugs and a place for dirt to collect. It has been 



30 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

my experience that water bugs and roaches will not 
come into a house unless they have a place to hide. A 
3-inch terra cotta drain pipe led to a small cesspool 
about one hundred feet away. On the right of the 
sink were installed a drain board and drain rack, see 
Fig. 2. This simple little fixture probably saves more 
work than any other one of the smaller items of the 
kitchen. I made it myself in a very short time, with 
very little expense. It was devised as a substitute for 
the familiar dish cloth. The upright board or rack is 
fitted with a convenient number of pegs upon which 
cups, glasses, bowls, etc., are hung to drain. The lower 
board is fitted with grooves to carry off the water, which 
drains from the dishes. On either side is a narrow strip 
and across the bottom are nailed other strips, one inch 
wide and one inch apart. The plates, saucers and other 
flat dishes may be taken from the hot rinse water and 
placed between the cross strips of the board in an almost 
upright position. The hot dishes will drain readily and 
dry in a few minutes. This will eliminate the tiresome 
process of "drying the dishes." This is another item 
that I learned in the chemical laboratory ; you will never 
see a chemist using a cloth to dry his dishes. A shallow 
wire basket, designed to hold knives, forks and spoons, 
was purchased for 10 cents and nailed to the wall above 
the drain board and out of the way of the other dishes. 

What the plow is to the farmer, the cook stove is 
to the housewife. In furnishing a kitchen, therefore, 
the first consideration should be given to the stove or 
range. There are so many good stoves upon the market 
that it is usually an easy matter to find one that is well 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 31 

adapted to the needs of any particular kitchen. The 
value of the stove depends largely upon the efficiency 
of its use and the economy of fuel. Some of the large 
ranges are so well constructed and insulated that they 
require less fuel than the smaller stoves and at the 
same time give out less heat into the room. Other con- 
siderations being equal, a large range should be selected 
in preference to a small one. Tliere is a feeling of com- 
fort in always having plenty of room in the oven and on 
top of the stove. My range is 32 by 36 inches. A hood 
made of sheet iron was placed over it to carry off the 
odors and smoke of cooking and the heat of the range. 
This necessitated an extra flue in the chimney. Care 
should be taken to avoid reducing the size of the pipe 
of a range. A range fitted to carry a 7-inch pipe with 
an ordinary draft may be reduced to a 6-inch flue, but 
it is never safe to reduce one of 7-ineh dimensions to 
five inches or less. Many of the troubles the housewife 
has with her range can be traced to this cause. 

The hot water tank, which is usually a collector of 
dust both on the top and underneath, and is always hard 
to keep clean, was inclosed in a little cupboard, a small 
door only being left at the side. 

The roomy provision closet has a large window on one 
side and all the rest of the wall space was fitted with 
strong shelves, from three feet above the floor up to the 
ceiling. In this closet can be kept a supply of potatoes, 
a barrel of flour, and a barrel of apples, and a supply of 
canned fruit and vegetables. 

The cold box outside of the provision closet window 
can be used in place of the refrigerator for a great part 



38 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

of the year. Cooked vegetables keep better in a well 
ventilated box than in a refrigerator. This box is really 
only a frame of wood covered with ordinary wire screen. 
This is an improvement on the old fashioned safe that 
used to sit up on high legs under a tree out in the back 
yard. The box rests on a shelf and is fastened to the 
window sill with two stout hooks. It can be taken down 
occasionally and scalded out. The lid is made of zinc, 
fits tightly and is fastened down with a hook. Food 
placed in this box is, of course, always covered. 

The work table is 40 by 72 inches and is covered 
with zinc, which is easily cleaned, and hot cooking uten- 
sils may be set upon it without any danger of burning. 
It is fitted with casters, so that it may easily be rolled 
back and forth the length of the room. The convenience 
of casters on the kitchen table will be a surprise to most 
housewives. A set can be bought for 25 cents and put 
on in a few minutes. During the summer the table can 
be pushed over near the windows and the dinner pre- 
pared away from the heat of the stove and in a better 
light. During the canning season the fruits and vege- 
tables may also be prepared with the table near the 
windows and, when everything is ready for cooking, it 
may be pushed over near the stove. The height of this 
table is thirty-four inches, as this was determined to be 
the most convenient height for the person who was to 
use it. 

All kitchen shelves should be inclosed, thus keeping 
everything out of sight and out of the dust. The built- 
in cupboard in my kitchen is 24 by 96 inches and has 
upper and lower compartments, each equipped with a 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 33 

separate pair of doors which open outward. If sliding 
doors could be guaranteed in a kitchen they would be 
found to be a great convenience, but the heat and steam 
of cooking is almost sure to cause such doors to swell and 
stick, therefore it is best to dispense with them in the 
beginning. This cupboard has ample proportions. The 
kitchen utensils are stored in the lower compartments 
and the kitchen crockery and small items of kitchen 
equipment are stored in the upper compartments. 

The safe was placed in the corner of the room 
farthest from the heat of the range. As this is made of 
perforated tin and well ventilated, much of the cooked 
food, crackers, the cooky box and the jam for the chil- 
dren's lunches are kept in it. 

The kitchen cabinet was placed between the two big 
windows on the side of the room next to the sink. Here 
the housewife can sit on a high stool and prepare the 
greater part of each meal. The modern kitchen cabinet 
is designed primarily to save the housewife time and 
labor and to keep her off her feet as much as possible. 
The "handy man around the house" can make one with 
very little expense. In the cabinet are stored all the 
materials for the baking of bread, cakes and pies. The 
flour bin is there with its rotary sifter, and the sugar 
bin, the spice jars and the rack of flavoring extracts, 
the coffee, tea, baking powder and rice, as well as the 
bread board and rolling pin. At one side are the linen 
and cutlery drawers and the metal bread box, while 
underneath is a closed space for the aluminum and 
lighter cooking utensils. 

The utility closet at one end of the butler's pantry 



34 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



£D/r~V//^G /CPOO/'X' 




Fig. 8 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 35 

was designed to hold brooms, aprons, dust pans and the 
like. The refrigerator was placed at the other end of 
the pantry, close by a window. If desired it can be 
filled with ice through the window above it. Opposite 
the refrigerator is a closet with glass doors for the dining 
room china. 

This remodeled kitchen (Fig. 3), while perhaps not 
perfect in every detail, represents very closely my idea 
of what a kitchen should be. I did nearly all of the 
work myself at odd times, upon holidays and whenever 
I could spare the time from my regular work. I advise 
every housewife to consider her own needs and study 
the possibilities of her own kitchen. Nearly every 
kitchen can be improved without a large outlay of 
money. The kitchen on the farm can be made just as 
convenient and just as attractive as the kitchen in the 
city. 

A SMALL KITCHEN 

To many housewives a kitchen 16 by 20 feet seems 
entirely too large. For a bungalow or a house for a 
family of two or three, a smaller kitchen might be more 
convenient. The floor plan of a convenient small kitchen 
is shown in Fig. 3. Here again the idea of keeping 
the range, the cabinet and sink as near together as pos- 
sible is carried out, the sink in this case being in the 
pantry. The work shelf beside the sink is on hinges to 
allow it to be let down out of the way when not in use. 
The refrigerator at the end of the pantry has an outside 
door. It is usually best, especially in a small kitchen, 
to have all cupboards and shelves built into the walls. 



36 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



EQUIPPING A KITCHEN 

The best equipped kitchen is not necessarily the one 
that contains the greatest number of the so-called labor 
saving devices. Many of the small patented articles 
advertised so extensively at the present day and advo- 
cated by the "Household Guides" for use in the kitchen 
are impractical. They run up the expense and detract 
from one of the fundamental ideas of the kitchen — 
simplicity. The best way for the housewife to peel a 
potato, for example, is in the old-fashioned way, with a 
knife, and not with a patented potato peeler. At the 
recent Panama Pacific Exposition, a model bungalow 
was built and equipped for two persons. In the kitchen 
of this little bungalow was a dishwashing machine that 
would have done credit to a moderate sized hotel. It is 
not such labor saving machines as this, but the simple 
little inexpensive conveniences that work themselves into 
every day use. For example, a 5-cent stiff brush for 
cleaning saucepans and kettles, a strainer fastened 
securely in the sink to prevent crumbs from stopping up 
the drain pipe, an asbestos pad for picking up the hot 
cooking utensils, or a wooden spoon for use in cooking 
vegetables — many such things as simple as these, which 
may be made at home or purchased for 5 or 10 cents, 
become almost indispensable after the housewife has 
become accustomed to their use. One-half of the arti- 
cles outlined in the long list of the "Household Guides" 
are either not necessary or are not practical. 

Aluminum is without doubt the best material for 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 37 

kitchen utensils. For most purposes it is as far superior 
to enameled ware as enameled ware is to the old-time 
iron or tin. It is light and attractive and easy to keep 
clean, and most housewives who have a supply take pride 
in their aluminum and experience genuine pleasure in 
keeping it bright. It is true that the initial cost is a 
little high, but considering the amount of wear that it 
gives it is the most economical. I purchased my first 
piece of aluminum, an 8-quart preserving kettle, ten 
years ago. This has been in constant use ever since, and 
it is as good now as it was the day it was bought. It 
cost $1.25, and an enameled kettle of the same size would 
cost about 75 cents and would wear out in about two 
years with hard usage. 

The housewife is not advised to discard all enam- 
eled or tin kitchen utensils and replace them with 
aluminum at once, but when a piece of enameled or tin 
ware wears out, it is well to replace it with aluminum. 
The expense then will not be felt and in a few years she 
will have a full supply of aluminum. The old-fashioned 
black iron frying pans and muffin rings, polished on the 
inside or worn smooth by long usage, are, however, 
superior to aluminum ones. A good pair of scales in 
the kitchen will pay for themselves in a short time. An 
open-faced clock, in addition to being a step saver, will 
add cheeriness to the room. Keep a supply of red and 
black pepper, salt and a flour dredge on a shelf near the 
range, convenient for use while cooking. 

Every housewife knows her individual needs better 
than anyone else and does not need to be told of them, 
but, as I have said before, she has not thought seriously 



38 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

of her own convenience, she is not systematic, and insists 
upon doing things in the longest and hardest way. Sys- 
tematize and study your needs. You can afford the little, 
conveniences that mean so much in the way of time aud 
steps. Even with the things already on hand a little 
planning and rearrangement will work wonders. 



CANNING VEGETABLES 

Probably no one item in kitchen management means 
so much to the housewife, not only with respect to econ- 
omy, but to health and general good living, as the can- 
ning of vegetables. A healthful diet must include 
vegetables. The housewife knows this and to keep her 
table supplied during the winter months is one of the 
hardest problems that she has. What can I have for 
dinner today ? is a question often heard. In the summer 
time when there are plenty of vegetables out in the 
garden, her troubles are few in this respect, but when 
the winter comes on she wants a nutritious dinner for 
her husband and her children. I know from experience 
that her pantry, at this season of the year, is not over 
supplied, and it is no wonder that she often asks herself 
this question. 

In order to insure an abundance of vegetables for 
last summer's use from her garden she probably planted 
twice as much as she really needed. The surplus that 
was not given away went to waste. I have seen it demon- 
strated a great many times that enough vegetables 
annually go to waste from a garden to supply the table 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 39 

during the winter. But usually the housewife cans a 
few tomatoes, preserves some fruit and leaves her most 
nutritious vegetables to decay in the field, under the 
impression that it is impossible to keep them. This is 
a great mistake. It is just as easy to keep sweet corn, 
string beans or English peas as it is to keep tomatoes, 
if only you go about it in the right way. Every house- 
wife should run a miniature canning factory in her own 
kitchen. 

Here again I will say that [ practice what I preach. 
For a good many years my wife and I have canned for 
each winter over a thousand quarts of fruits and vege- 
tables — mostly vegetables. Every vegetable that grows 
in our latitude and is served cooked is canned at our 
house. It is so easy and is becoming easier as time goes 
on, and we develop more system. We do not lose one jar 
out of a hundred, and every housewife can do equally 
as well, if not better. 

My garden is less than three-quarters of an acre, yet 
it supplies us with vegetables during the summer season 
and gives us an ample surplus for canning. It is won- 
derful how much can be produced upon a little space of 
ground if it is properly managed. Miss Salina Smith, 
one of the girls in the club work of the Department of 
Agriculture, canned over a thousand cans of tomatoes 
from one-tenth of an acre. In the summer season there 
is always something to can upon the farm and the best 
kind of economy that I know of consists in taking care 
of these products that would ordinarily go to waste. 
Exercise a little foresight and store up things in the time 
of plenty. 



40 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

While there need not be any especial rush during the 
canning season, all the vegetables must be canned as they 
come along. You will have to put other things aside if 
you are to can successfully, for when vegetables are ready 
they should be canned. It is poor economv to delay until 
they are old or half spoiled. 

A man can help his wife so much in this way. Many 
times have I come home from work in the afternoon and 
gathered, prepared and canned as much as twenty quarts 
of vegetables. Of course "wdth some vegetables I could 
not work so rapidly, but with such thmgs as tomatoes 
or beets, there is very little labor involved. These were 
canned and sterilized while my wife was cooking supper. 
They were seasoned and, of course, well cooked in the 
process of canning, and were set away in the store- 
room, ready to be opened and served upon ten minutes' 
notice. 

About ten years ago I stopped eating meat, not from 
religious or sentimental reasons, but on account of my 
digestion. My diet was largely restricted to vegetables, 
and in the wdnter I found great difficulty in getting such 
as were palatable and nicely canned. My sympathies 
still go out to the people who have to live out of tin cans, 
I could can tomatoes and fruits, but when I tried string 
beans and okra I made a failure. A majority of house- 
wives have had this same experience. One day in my 
laboratory I noticed a scientist sterilizing some material 
that he intended to use for cultures to grow bacteria in. 
I noticed that he stopped up the little tubes containing 
the material with cotton and heated them up to the tem- 
perature of boiling water for thirty minutes on one day, 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 41 



waited until the next day and heated them another 
thirty minutes. I inquired why he gave the tubes two 
heatings and he explained it to me. 

I saw the possibility of applying this system to the 
canning of vegetables, and since that time I have not had 
to depend upon the canning factory for my winter sup- 
ply. I wrote up my experience for the benefit of others, 
and this was the beginning of the canning work in the 
Department of Agriculture. 

The art of canning or preserving, in one form or 
another, is almost as old as history itself. The Chinese 
possessed this secret long before the era of modern civil- 
ization. They sterilized their fruits and vegetables and 
made preserves and jellies, but the "reasons why" which 
lay back of the art have only been recently explained. 



STERILIZATION 

The great secret of canning or preserving lies in what 
is known as complete sterilization. The air we breathe, 
the water we drink, all fruits and vegetables, are teeming 
with minute forms of life which we call bacteria, or 
molds, or germs. These germs are practically the sole 
cause of decomposition or rotting. The exclusion of air 
from canned articles, which was formerly supposed to 
be so important, is unnecessary, provided the air is free 
from germs. The exclusion of air is necessary only 
because in excluding it we exclude the germs. In other 
words, air which has been sterilized or freed from germs 
by heat or mechanical means can be passed continuously 



42 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

over canned articles without affecting them in the least. 
If a glass bottle is filled with some vegetable which ordi- 
narily spoils very rapidly — for instance, string beans — 
and, instead of a cork, is stoppered with a thick plug 
of raw cotton and heated until all germ life is destroyed, 
the beans wall keep indefinitely. The air can readily 
pass in and out of the bottle through the plug of cotton, 
while the germs from the outside air can not pass 
through, but are caught and held in its meshes. This 
shows that the germs and their spores or seeds are the 
only causes of spoilage that we have to deal with in 
canning. 

Germs which cause decay may be divided into three 
classes — yeasts, molds and bacteria. All three of these 
are themselves plants of a very low order, and all attack 
plants of a higher order in somewhat the same way. 
Every housewife is familiar with the yeast plant and its 
habits. It thrives in substances containing sugar, which 
it decomposes or breaks up into carbonic acid and alco- 
hol. This fact is made use of in bread making, as well 
as in the manufacture of distilled spirits. Yeasts are 
easily killed, so they can be left out of consideration in 
canning vegetables. Molds, like yeasts, thrive in mix- 
tures containing sugar, as well as in acid vegetables, 
such as the tomato, where neither yeasts nor bacteria 
readily grow. Although more resistant to heat than 
yeasts, they are usually killed at the temperature of boil- 
ing water. As a general rule molds are likely to attack 
fruits, jellies and preserves, and are not concerned with 
the spoiling of canned vegetables. The spoiling of vege- 
tables is due primarily to bacteria. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 43 



Bacteria are also much more resistant to heat than 
yeasts. They thrive in products like milk and in meats 
and vegetables rich in protein, such as peas, beans, etc. 
All known species of molds require air in which to work. 
This is not true of bacteria, certain species of which will 
live and cause vegetables to decompose even when no 
air is present. When these particular species are pres- 
ent the exclusion of air is no safeguard against decay, 
unless the vegetable is first thoroughly sterilized. Bac- 
teria are so small that they can only be seen with a 
microscope, and they reproduce themselves with amazing 
rapidity. One bacterium, under favorable conditions, 
will produce about twenty millions in the course of 
twenty-four hours. Accordingly certain vegetables spoil 
more rapidly than others, because they furnish a better 
medium for bacterial growth. 

The reproduction of bacteria is brought about by one 
of two processes. The germ either divides itself into 
two parts, making two bacteria where one existed before, 
or else reproduces itself by means of spores. These 
spores may be compared to seeds of an ordinary plant, 
and they present the chief difficulty in canning vege- 
tables. While the parent bacteria may be readily killed 
at the temperature of boiling water, the seeds retain their 
vitality for a long time even at that temperature, and 
upon cooling will germinate, and the newly formed bac- 
teria will begin their destructive work. Therefore it is 
necessary, in order to completely sterilize a vegetable, to 
heat it to the boiling point of water and keep it at that 
temperature for about an hour, upon two successive days, 
or else keep it at the temperature of boiling water for a 



44 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

long period of time — sometimes as much as five hours. 
The process of boiling upon successive days is always 
employed in scientific work and is the one I always use, 
except with such vegetables as beets, which are very 
easily sterilized. The boiling on the first day kills all 
the molds and practically all the bacteria, but does not 
kill the spores or seeds. 

As soon as the jar cools these seeds germinate and 
a fresh crop of bacteria begin to work upon the vege- 
tables. The boiling upon the second day kills this crop 
of bacteria before they have had time to develop spores. 
Among scientists this is called fractional sterilization, 
and this principle constitutes the whole secret of can- 
ning. If the housewife will only bear this in mind she 
will be able, with a little ingenuity, to can any fruit or 
vegetable. 

Even after sterilization is complete the work is not 
yet done. The spores of bacteria are so light that they 
float about in the air and settle upon almost everything. 
The air is alive with them. Therefore it is necessary, 
after sterilizing a jar of vegetables, to exclude carefully 
all outside air. If one bacterium or one of its spores 
should get in and find a resting place, in the course of a 
few days the contents of the jar would spoil. This is 
why the exclusion of air is an important factor, not 
because the air itself does any damage, but because of the 
ever present bacteria. 

I advise every housewife to read this chapter over 
and study it until she thoroughly understands what it 
means. When she does understand, it will throw much 
light upon many experiences that she has had before. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 45 

She will know why it is that she has been able to keep 
tomatoes and has failed with lima beans or sweet corn. 
Tomatoes contain only a few molds, while sweet corn has 
some of the most resistant bacteria. 

PRESERVING POWDERS 

I am often asked about the so-called preserving pow- 
ders. There are a great many such powders on the 
market and they usually do what is claimed for them, 
that is, they prevent the decay of the fruit or vegetable. 
Recipes for such powders are sold by agents and peddlers 
throughout the country. In the directions for use the 
housewife is told to fill the jar with the fruit or vegetable 
to be canned, to cover with water and to add a teaspoon- 
ful of the powder. They usually consist of benzoate of 
soda, boric acid, salicylic acid, or some preservative of 
that nature. While I am not afraid to use them myself, 
I certainly would not feed to my children vegetables 
that had been preserved in them. They encourage care- 
less and uncleanly work, and it is a "lazy man's" way 
of doing things and it does not pay. The proper way to 
can vegetables is by heat, and this can be done so easily 
that I never recommend preserving powders. 

Before the National Pure Food and Drugs Act went 
into effect in 1906, it was a common practice for com- 
mercial canners to use some kind of preservative, espe- 
cially for ketchups, pickles, relishes, etc. Now, however, 
if they uss anything they must so print it upon the label 
and the housewife is thus protected. It can be said that 
few first class canners are now using preservatives. I 



46 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



advise every housewife in buying canned articles to 
always read the labels and to refuse any article that 
contains benzoate of soda or any other form of preserva- 
tive. 

A GOOD JAR 

The first requisite for home canning is a good jar. 
At the present time glass is much more economical than 




Fig. 4 — Ordinary screw-top jar. 



Fig. 5 — Improved serew-top jar. 



tin, as No. 3 tin cans are now retailing at 90 cents a 
dozen. As it is advisable to use these only once, this 
price makes their use in the home entirely out of reason. 
The housewife who has to buy canned vegetables in the 
near future is likely to feel this increase in the price of 
tin. Vegetables put up in tin are less attractive than 
when put up in glass. This is quite an item to every 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 47 



housewife who takes pride in the appearance of her 
"canned stutf." 

There are a great many kinds of glass jars on the 
market, many of them possessing certain distinct points 
of advantage. The ordinary screw top, or Mason jar, 
is the one in most common use (Fig. 4). Although 
cheap in price, these jars are the most expensive in the 
long run. The tops last only a few years and, being 
cheaply made, the breakage is usually greater than in 




Fig. 6 — Jar with metal lacquered top. 

that of the better grade of jar. The tops also furnish 
an excellent hiding place for germs, w^hieh makes steril- 
ization more difficult. I never advise canning any vege- 
table except tomatoes in Mason jars. If you already 
have a supply it is best to use them for tomatoes and 
fruits, and to buy a more improved kind for vegetables. 
An improved type of screw top jar is showTi in Fig 5. 



48 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

These are fitted with a glass top held in place by a metal 
cover which screws down over the neck of the jar If 
the canning or sterilization is done properly, practically 
all of the air will be driven out of the jar by the steam. 
Upon cooling this is condensed, a vacuum is formed on 
the inside which clamps down the glass top against the 
rubber ring and seals the jar automatically. The metal 
cover can then be removed, as the pressure of the outside 
air will hold the glass top securely in place. 

Another type of jar in common use is shown in Fig. 6. 
These require no rubber rings, but are fitted with a 
metal top, lacquered on both sides and having a groove 
around the lower edge. This groove contains a composi- 
tion of the consistency of rubber which is softened dur- 
ing the canning process and forms a seal that takes the 
place of the rubber ring. These metal tops must be 
renewed each year, as it is necessary to puncture them 
in order to open the jar, I have used them but do not 
like them. 

The most satisfactory jar that I have had any experi- 
ence with is the one shown in Fig. 8. This has a rubber 
ring and glass top which is held in place by a simple 
wire spring. There are several brands of these jars on 
the market, so no difficulty should be experienced in 
obtaining them. 

The best quality retails at from 85 cents to $1 a 
dozen for quarts, or about $8 a gross. The initial 
expense may, therefore, be somewhat high, but with 
proper care they will last a great many years. The 
annual breakage should be less than 3 per cent on the 
average. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 49 

The breakage during the canning process is usually 
greater the first year than thereafter, as jars that have 
small cracks or are poorly tempered, break when they 
first get hot. Those that go through the first season will 
last almost indefinitely if properly taken care of. 

The rubber ring is another important item. The most 
expensive kind are not necessarily the best. I prefer 
black rings to white ones. We get little enough genuine 
rubber in any of them, and the white rings have usually 
been more thoroughly bleached out or have had more 
cheap material worked into them. A good ring will not 
come to pieces or lose its elasticity during the canning 
process. It should never be used but once. 

In selecting a jar, alwaj^s give preference to those 
having wide mouths. In canning whole fruit or vege- 
tables and in cleaning out the jar the \^^de mouth will be 
found decidedly preferable. When buying examine 
every jar, take off the top and run your finger around 
the under edge; if it has the smallest crack or broken 
place, reject it. In canning you might as well leave off 
the top entirely as to have an opening in it even as small 
as a pin point. 



CONTAINER FOR STERILIZING 

In all methods of canning, some form of sterilizer 
must be used. To be able to do with the things she 
already has on hand is an important item to the house- 
wife. Almost every one has a tin clothes boiler, and 
this can easily be converted into a convenient sterilizing 



50 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



vat. The only things necessary are a tight-fitting cover 
and a false bottom, as is shown in Fig. 7. A false bottom 
is absolutely necessary in order to prevent the jars from 
coming in contact with the bottom of the sterilizing vat, 
causing them to break during the boiling. For this pur- 
pose I use an ordinary No. 16 wire netting of one-half 







Fig. 7- 



-A tin wash boiler with a false bottom made of wire netting, used 
as a convenient sterilizer in canning. 



inch mesh, which is cut to fit the bottom of the boiler. 
If the netting can not be had, thin pieces of wood tacked 
together, or almost anything of this kind, will answer the 
purpose. If a clothes boiler is not available, a deep 
saucepan or a bucket with a tight fitting cover will 
answer equally as well. I have found that rubbing the 
inside of the boiler with a cloth and a little cooking oil 
will prevent rusting in a great measure. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 51 



HOME CANNING OUTFITS 

During the last few years, since the Department of 
Agriculture has taken up such extensive work on home 
canning, a great many kinds of small outfits, suitable 
for use on the farm, have been developed. These can be 
bought at prices ranging from $6 to $20. If tin cans 
are to be used, or if much canning is to be done for 
market, one of these small outfits is essential, but I have 
never felt the need of them in canning for home use. 
The old clothes boiler that has gotten a little rusty, with 
a chicken wire false bottom, is good enough for me. 
However, if any housewife is interested in buying one 
of these outfits, she can obtain the names and addresses 
of the principal manufacturers by addressing the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 

SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF 
VEGETABLES 

To be successful in canning one must use care and 
thought in every detail. Vegetables are better if gath- 
ered early in the morning while the dew is still on them. 
If it is impossible to can them immediatel}--, do not allow 
them to wither, but put them in cold water or in a cold, 
damp place where they wall keep crisp until you are 
ready to use them. Never attempt to can any vegetable 
that has matured and commenced to harden, or one that 
has begun to decay. As a general rule, young vege- 



52 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

tables are superior in flavor and texture to the more 
mature ones. This is especially marked in such vege- 
tables as string beans, okra, asparagus and corn. Experi- 
ence will soon teach you at what stage your vegetables 
should be gathered for canning. 

In the following pages are given directions for can- 
ning some of the more common vegetables, but the house- 
wife can add to them at will. The principles of 
sterilization are the same for all meats, fruits and vege- 
tables. These directions apply to quart jars. 



ENGLISH PEAS 

When prepared and canned in the proper way, peas 
are easily kept and never lose the delicate flavor they 
possess when fresh. Shell the peas, wash and pack them 
in the jars and add salt to taste, a light teaspoonful to 
each quart is sufficient. Fill up the jars with cold water, 
put the rubber rings on the necks of the jars, and place 
the glass tops on loosely, as is shown in Fig. 8. Be care- 
ful not to press dovvTi the springs at the side of the jars. 
Place the wire false bottom in the boiler and put in as 
many jars as it will conveniently hold. Pour in about 
three inches of cold water, or just enough to form steam 
and to prevent the boiler going dry during the boiling. 
It is not necessary to have the water up to the neck of 
the jars, as the steam will do the cooking. Put the cover 
on the boiler and set it on the stove. Bring the water to 
a boil and keep it boiling for one hour and a half. At 
the end of that time remove the cover from the boiler and 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



53 



allow the steam to escape. Press down the springs at 
the side of the jars, which clamp on the tops, as shown 
in Fig. 9. This will prevent any outside air from get- 
ting in. The jars can now be removed from the boiler 
and allowed to stand until the next day. In removing 
the jars from the boiler be careful not to expose them 
to a draft of cold air, as the sudden change in tempera- 




Fig. 8 

ture is likely to crack them. It is best to stand them on 
a cloth and cover them over with one until they are cool. 
On the second day raise the springs at the side of the 
jars, place them in the boiler, and boil again for one 
hour, clamp on the tops and remove from the boiler. 
If properly done, the peas will now keep indefinitely, 
and I defy anyone to tell the difference between those 
canned in this way and the fresh article. After the 
sterilization is complete the jars may be set aside for a 



54 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



few days and then tested. This is done by releasing 
the spring from over the top and picking up the jar by 
the top, as shown in Fig. 10. If there has been any 
decomposition, or if the sterilization has not been prop- 





Fig. 9 — Position of spring after 
sterilizing. 



Fig. 10 — Manner of testing. 



erly done, the top will come off. During the boiling 
process, the outside of the jar is filled with steam; when 
the top is clamped on and the jar cooled, this steam is 
condensed and leaves a vacuum inside the jar. Now 
the weight of the air, or atmospheric pressure, is about 
fifteen pounds for every square inch, so, as there are 
about four square inches of surface upon the top of the 
jar, there is an inward pressure of nearly sixty pounds. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 55 



If you have not used a leaky rubber, or a defective jar, 
and the top comes off when you test it, it means that 
sterilization has not been complete— that probably a few 
bacteria were left in and these have multiplied and 
formed enough gas to release the pressure from the out- 
side. If the top does not come off, you can be reason- 
ably sure that the peas are going to keep, and they can 
be set away. Three pounds of average sized peas will 
shell out enough to fill a quart jar. 

As a general rule I use the system of fractional steril- 
ization, or boiling upon two successive days, and I always 
advocate it. However, some housewives prefer to do all 
of their sterilization at one time. In this case put the 
jars into the boiler, as has been described, and boil for 
twx) hours and three-quarters. Take off the top of the 
boiler, and press down the springs which clamp on the 
tops of the jars. Don't let any outside air into the jars 
and the sterilization vnll now be complete. 

In counting the time of boiling, begin when the water 
begins to l)oil. If some of the water boils out of the jars 
during the process it will make no difference. Never 
open a jar in order to fill it up with water. The space 
inside the jar is almost a vacuum and it is saturated 
with moisture, and therefore the vegetables can not dry 
out. If you are using the screw top jars, begin with 
the tops screwed on lightly, and boil for two hours and 
three-quarters, screw down the tops and remove from the 
boiler. If you ever have any trouble with any vegetable 
a safe rule is to increase the time of boiling. 

Sterilization depends to a great extent upon how 
rapidly the heat penetrates the jar, and the housewife 



56 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

should always bear this in mind when canning the dif- 
ferent vegetables. If a quart jar is filled with cold water 
and set in a vat of boiling water, its temperature will 
run up very rapidly, and in about twenty minutes the 
water inside the jar wall be about as hot as the water 
in the vat. However, if the jar is filled with a thick 
substance like starch paste, for example, it will take over 
two hours for the center of the jar to reach the tempera- 
ture of boiling water. In canning peas, beans and vege- 
tables of this kind, there is always plenty of water 
around the vegetable, and this can move inward freely 
and carry the heat with it. But with such vegetables as 
corn, which is apt to form a rather thick, pasty mass, 
there are no currents of water to carry the heat inward, 
therefore the heat will penetrate the jar very slowly. 
As it is absolutely necessary with most vegetables to 
have the center of the jar reach the temperature of boil- 
ing water and be held at that temperature for some time, 
the rapidity of heat penetration must be always kept in 
mind. If your vegetables are thick and pasty when 
packed in the jar, increase the time of boiling. 



STRING BEANS 

Select young and tender beans, string them and 
break into short lengths. Put them into a saucepan of 
water, bring to a boil and boil for a few minutes. This 
will "blanche" them, that is, it will remove the strong 
tasting, gumming material from the surface. Pour off 
the water and pack the beans into the jars, cover with 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 57 



fresh water, add a teaspoonful of salt to each quart jar. 
Put on the rubber rings and tops and boil for one hour 
upon two successive days, as has been described under 
English peas. A small pod of red pepper placed in the 
bottom of the jar will add much to the flavor of the 
beans. String beans do not take as long to sterilize as 
corn. When wishing to complete the sterilization upon 
one day, put the jars into the water as has been described 
for English peas, and boil for two hours, remove the 
cover of the boiler, clamp down the springs that hold 
on the tops and remove from the boiler. 



r 



CORN 



Contrary to the general opinion, corn is easily canned. 
It only reciuires a longer period of sterilization than 
most other vegetables. The varieties of sweet sugar corn 
that are usually the best to can, Stowell's Evergreen 
and Country Gentleman, contain about 27 per cent of 
sugar, on tlie basis of their dry weight. It has been 
recently shown tliat the sugar decreases very rapidly 
after the ear has been pulled from the stalk. The loss 
of sugar is more marked when the corn is pulled and 
husked than it is if the shuck is allowed to stay on the 
ear. Therefore, in order to retain the original sweet- 
ness, it is best to can the corn very soon after it has been 
pulled — within an hour if possible. The same fact is 
true of the volatile compounds which give the corn its 
flavor. This loss in sugar and flavor explains why the 
com that is eaten in hotels and restaurants usually seems 



58 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

of such a poor quality. Such corn often has been pulled 
from the stalk as much as a day or more. 

Select the ears with full grains before they have 
begun to harden, as this is the period of the greatest 
sugar content. Husk them and brush off the silk with 
a stiif brush. Shear off the grains with a sharp knife 
and fill the jars, but do not pack them. Add salt to 
taste, usually about a teaspoonful to the quart is suffi- 
cient, and fill up the jars to the top with cold water. 
Com will swell and absorb a great deal of water during 
the sterilization, so it is well to have enough in the 
beginning. However, if all the water disappears during 
the boiling, it will make no difference in the keeping of 
the corn. Put on the rubber rings and tops and steam, 
as has been described under English peas, for two and 
one-half hours on two successive days. When wishing 
to sterilize in one day, boil for at least five hours, then 
clamp on the tops and remove from the boiler. 

When I am out on the farm I usually can the ordi- 
nary field corn. This can always be obtained in such 
abundance, and if canned when young and tender, with 
about a teaspoonful of sugar added to each pint, no one 
can tell the difference between it and the sweet corn. 

Corn is often subject to the attacks of anarobic bac- 
teria, and some years these will be worse than others. 
These bacteria do not require air in which to work and 
do not generate any gas, but form a sour smelling mass. 
Their spores are sometimes very hard to kill, and in 
my early experience with canning corn I had some diffi- 
culty with them, until I found out what the trouble was. 
At that time I was only heating the jars for one hour at 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 59 



each period, and as has been explained, the heat was 
penetrating the jars very slowly, so I had not given 
sufficient time for the interior of the jars to become 
thoroughly sterilized. I increased the time to two and 
one-half hours on two successive days and had no further 
difficulty. If ever you have any difficulty with corn, 
increase the time of boiling. 

If you ever want a "show" can of com, first put the 
ears in boiling water for about ten minutes or until the 
grains harden, now shear them off, pack the corn in the 
jar with water and sterilize. The grains treated in this 
way will remain plump and the jar will not have the 
characteristic milky appearance of com canned in the 
usual way. 

LIMA BEANS 

"While lima beans are verj' easily kept, they should 
be very carefully handled, as they are one of the most 
delicately flavored vegetables we have, and one that loses 
its flavor very rapidly after being picked and shelled. 
Lima beans will usually shell out about one-quarter of 
their bulk. Discard all pods that have begun to harden 
and proceed exactly as you would with English peas. 

BEETS 

While beets will keep in the cellar over winter, it is 
much better to can them while they are young and 
tender, as the mature beets are apt to be stringy and 
lacking in flavor. Wash the young beets, cut off the 



60 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

tops and boil them until tender. Take off the skins, 
slice and pack in the jars. Cover with water and steril- 
ize for one hour upon one day only. If a mild pickle is 
desired, make a mixture of equal parts of water and 
good vinegar, sweeten and salt to taste, and cover the 
beets with this mixture instead of water. 

ASPARAGUS 

Cut the asparagus the length of the jar and pack as 
many in the jar as it will hold. Cover with water, add 
a teaspoonful of salt to each jar, and sterilize as you 
would English peas upon two successive days. If you 
are anxious to make the jar hold as much as possible, 
open it up after it has been boiling about a half hour. 
By this time the asparagus has been partly cooked and 
is soft, and you can put several more pieces in the jar. 
Ten pounds of asparagus will fill about six quarts. 

OKRA 

The traveler through the South is usually impressed 
with the amount of okra grown. The negroes always 
have their sweet potatoes, their collards and a few rows 
of "okry." The young pods are used for soups and 
stews. The people of the North usually have to culti- 
vate a taste for it, but in the South it is considered a 
delicious vegetable. 

Wash the young pods, cut into short lengths, pack 
into the jars, cover with cold water and sterilize as you 
would English peas. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 61 



EGGPLANT 

Pare the eggplant, cut in thin slices, and drop in 
boiling water for fifteen or twenty minutes. Drain off 
the water and pack the slices in the jars. Cover with 
water and sterilize as directed under English peas. The 
slices of egg plant are pliable and may be taken from the 
jar without being broken, and either fried in bread 
crumbs or made into pudding and baked. 

KOHL-RABI 

This vegetable is very much like a turnip except that 
the bulb grows above the ground. In flavor, however, it 
resembles the cauliflower. It is almost unknown in the 
South, where it should be extensively grown. Gather it 
when young and tender, cut into small blocks, pack into 
the jars, cover with water, add a teaspoonful of salt and 
sterilize as 3^ou would English peas. Serve as you would 
cauliflower. 



BELL PEPPERS 

Gather the peppers, either green or ripe, cut around 
the stem end and remove the seeds, put in boiling water 
or steam for a few minutes, or until they are soft and 
pliable. Pack carefully into jars, but do not add any 
water, and sterilize for two hours on one day only. If 
you have not broken them in handling, these can be 



62 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

taken out in the winter and stuffed with corn, rice and 
tomatoes, macaroni and cheese, etc. Bake these to a 
light brown and serve with tomato sauce. 

Pimentoes may also be canned in this way for salad. 



COW PEAS 

The ordinary black-eyed pea, or cow pea, that is 
planted so extensively as a forage crop, is also an excel- 
lent vegetable. The peas are best if gathered just before 
they are ripe and while they are still soft. Shell the 
peas, pack into the jars, add a teaspoonful of salt to each 
quart and sterilize as you would English peas. Use as 
you would lima beans or mix with tomatoes, and bake. 

CAULIFLOWER 

This vegetable usually keeps very well, but if the 
supply for the winter begins to spoil, it may be neces- 
sary to can it during the summer. Prepare it as you 
would for the table, pack into jars and sterilize as you 
would English peas. 

CARROTS AND PARSNIPS 

"While these vegetables will keep all winter, they are 
apt to get a little stringy and develop a strong taste that 
is objectionable to most people. This can be overcome 
by canning them while young and tender. Prepare them 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 63 



as you would for the table, pack into jars, cover with 
water, and sterilize for one and a half hours for one day- 
only. Few housewives know how much cooked tender 
young carrots add to a salad. 



SUCCOTASH 

Mix green corn and tender lima beans in about equal 
proportions, cover with water, add a teaspoonful of salt 
to each quart and sterilize in the same way as you would 
corn. 

JP'^ PUMPKIN AND WINTER SQUASH 

There is no need of any hurry in canning pumpkin. 
If gathered at the approach of frost and brought indoors, 
nearly all the varieties will keep a few months at least. 
I usually Avait until some time in Decemlier, or until the 
pumpkins show signs of decay, to do my canning. By 
this time many jars that had been full of other vege- 
tables have been emptied. These are now refilled with 
pumpkin and the jars thus made to do double duty. 
Some varieties have very hard skins and are difficult to 
peel in the ordinary way. First place the whole pump- 
kins in the wash boiler and boil until the skins are soft, 
take them out and the skins will peel off easily. Cut 
them open, remove the seeds, cut them up in small pieces, 
put into a large preserving kettle and cook with a little 
water until soft. Put through a sieve or potato masher 
to remove the stringy portions, sweeten and season, as 



64 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

you would if preparing for pies, pack into the jars while 
still hot and sterilize as you would com. 

When making pies, first prepare the crust, put in the 
tins and bake a light browai. Empty a jar of pumpkin 
into a mixing bowl, beat it up with the j^olks of eggs and 
milk and butter, turn it into the crust and bake until set. 
Now add the meringue and again bake a light brown. 

Another attractive way of using the canned pumpkin 
is to prepare it as for pies and turn into a shallow but- 
tered baking dish, without crust. Bake until set and add 
the meringue as usual. Serve with cream and grape 
jelly. 

TOMATOES 

Tomatoes are very easily canned, and almost every 
housewife has canned them with more or less success. 
This is because the acid of the tomato prevents the 
growth of the troublesome bacteria. The spoilage is due 
largely to molds which are easily killed. 

Tomatoes may probably be used in a greater number 
of ways than any other vegetable, and there are as many 
ways of canning them as there are of using them. The 
wash boiler is not altogether necessary, although I nearly 
always use it. 

The simplest way of canning tomatoes is to dip them 
in boiling water for about a minute, remove the skins, 
cut them up, and put them into an open preserving ket- 
tle, and add salt at the rate of a teaspoonful for each 
quart. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent 
scorching, and boil for about thirty minutes, or until the 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 65 

tomatoes are thoroughly done. If you are using the 
screw top jars, first put on the rubber rings and immerse 
the jars for a minute in boiling water, fill them with hot 
tomatoes; have the tops in boiling water, remove them 
as needed, being careful not to touch the inside of the 
tops with the fingers, and screw the tops on tightly. 
Invert the jars and let them stand in that position until 
cold. Some housewives have a habit of tightening up the 
tops after they have gotten cold. This is a bad practice, 
and is apt to do more harm than good, for if there has 
been a leak and the germs have already gotten in the jar, 
it is certainly too late to remedy matters, and tampering 
with the top will have more of a tendency to loosen up 
the seal and let in more air than otherwise. By invert- 
ing the jars the hot tomatoes are brought in contact with 
the tops and this destroys any germs that may have been 
left there. Never put anything, such as a spoon or a 
fork, inside the jars during the canning, unless you first 
dip it in boiling water. 

In using the wash boiler, prepare the tomatoes, take 
off the skins, and pack them as nearly whole as possible 
into the jars, add a teaspoonful of salt to each quart. 
Put on the rubber, and screw on the tops loosely, set in 
the boiler and boil for one hour. Screw down the tops 
and remove from the boiler. 

If whole tomatoes are desired for baking and bread- 
ing, proceed as follows: Remove the skins and cut up 
some tomatoes, put in a preserving kettle, and boil for 
twenty minutes. Remove them from the stove, and run 
through a strainer, and retuni the strained liquid to the 
fire. Now select ripe tomatoes that are small enough to 



66 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

go into the mouth of a jar, dip them in boiling water, 
remove the skins, and drop them whole into the jars 
until full. Add a teaspoonful of salt to each quart, and 
pour in the strained liquid, boiling hot, over the tomatoes 
until the jars are full. Put on the rubber rings and tops 
and place the jars in the wash boiler. Have the water 
in the boiler already hot to prevent the jars from break- 
ing. Bring to a boil and boil for twenty minutes. Clamp 
on the tops tightly and remove from the boiler. The 
strained juice may be used for soup. One bushel of 
good tomatoes will can about eighteen quarts. 



SOUPS 

It has been my custom for a good many years to can 
from one to two hundred quarts of vegetables and mix- 
tures of vegetables for soups. Tomatoes, of course, form 
the basis of most of these mixtures. In the winter these 
soups are a palatable and nutritious addition to our bill 
of fare. The vegetables are prepared, mixed in the 
desired proportions, seasoned with salt and pepper and 
canned in the regular way. Although corn occurs in 
many of these mixtures, the acid of the tomatoes assists 
in sterilizing it, therefore it does not require so long to 
sterilize as does corn alone. One can be perfectly safe 
in giving these mixtures the same time in boiling as 
English peas, that is, one hour and thirty minutes each 
upon two successive days, or two and three-quarters 
hours upon one day. The mixtures that I usually can 
are: Tomatoes and corn; tomatoes and okra ; toii^atoes 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 67 

and cow peas mixed half and half, or tomatoes, corn and 
okra, mixed in equal proportions. Sweet peppers may 
be added to either of these if desired. A mixture of all 
vegetables that usually occur in vegetable soup, toma- 
toes, corn, carrots, onions, beans, okra, etc., may also be 
canned together and used as a soup stock. As these 
vegetables are seasoned and cooked, in order to make 
good soup, it is only necessary to add water and a little 
butter and heat to boiling. "When turned into a sauce- 
pan and heated with a little butter, these mixtures make 
excellent stews. Tomatoes may also be cooked alone in 
an open kettle until a great part of the water has been 
boiled off. then put through a sieve to remove the seeds, 
and canned for soup. Green black-eyed peas, canned in 
this way, are also excellent. 



POSSIBILITIES OF HOME CANNING 

The possibilities of home canning are almost unlim- 
ited. "Everything that is served cooked" hardly 
expresses it. There is no excuse for hard living; if it is 
possible for anyone to live well, it should be the person 
upon the farm. 

Plant with the expectation of canning, and can every- 
thing that otherwise would go to waste. This will remove 
much of the hard living and keep many a boy upon the 
farm. The canning of Irish potatoes is even practical. 
In the South they bear abundantly, but do not keep well. 
Prepare them as you would for the table, can the small 
ones whole, and cut the larger ones in quarters, and can 



68 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

them. One sterilization of two hours is sufficient to keep 
them. I take up my spring onions while still tender, peel 
off the outer skins, boil a few minutes to soften them 
slightly, so that a great many more will go into the jar, 
then pack the jars full, cover w^ith water and sterilize for 
one hour on one day. In the winter they can be taken 
out, heated and served with a cream dressing, scalloped 
or dipped in bread crumbs and fried whole. 

Turnips may be canned when they are plentiful, also 
spinach and mustard greens. These are easily sterilized, 
requiring about two hours on one day. 

When salsify has reached maturity it is well to take 
it all up at one time, prepare it, cut into short lengths 
and sterilize it as you would carrots. The work of pre- 
paring is all done at once and the vegetables can be had 
for use the year round. 

Any one who has to buy their vegetables will find it 
convenient to can them even for summer use. There are 
always times when the market is overloaded and certain 
vegetables are cheap. Buy then in large quantities, and 
get the benefit of both quality and price ; can your sum- 
mer supply at one time, and your vegetables w^ill be 
cooked and ready to serve when needed. 

Take care of your jars, and add as many as you can 
to your supply each year, and you will soon have all you 
need. Rightly considered, there is no extra work in 
canning. The vegetables have to be prepared and 
cooked anyway, and in canning you are doing your cook- 
ing in the summer instead of the winter, and in jars 
instead of in pots. By canning in large bulk you are 
actually saving fuel, for it takes almost as much heat 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 69 

to cook one quart of beans as it does to cook a dozen. 
You can prepare the vegetables for twelve dinners at 
once in much less time than you can prepare them for 
twelve dinners separately. 

A housewife with plenty of ' ' canned stuff ' ' will never 
be taken unawares by company. She will have an ' ' emer- 
gency shelf" that is not easily exhausted. She will have 
soup, salad, vegetables and dessert already cooked, and 
can make a ' ' company ' ' dinner inside of twenty minutes. 



J^ lA^ CANNING FOR MARKET 

There is a great opportunity for the housewife on 
the farm to can fancy vegetables and fruits for market. 
I could dispose of all I could can and more at good prices. 
During the last few years, as a result of the pure food 
agitation, people are demanding a better quality of 
canned goods, and are willing to pay for them. People 
of means, the best hotels and restaurants, or the social 
clubs of the cities, are always on the lookout for fancy 
canned goods. If you can prepare any vegetable, fruit, 
preserve, ketchup or sauce, better than the average, you 
will have no difficulty in selling it. Many housewives 
who live in the city, and leave home during the summer, 
would gladly give an order in advance for a supply of 
home canned vegetables to last during the winter. It 
has been my experience that such people want nicely 
canned corn, lima beans and peas especially. 

After you have had a little experience in home can- 
ning you will find out wherein you excel, then I advise 



70 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

you to specialize along that particular line, and work up 
a reputation and market for that product. Some house- 
wives excel in making ketchup, while others have better 
success with pickles. Take up something a little out of 
the ordinary, chili sauce or watermelon rind preserves, 
for example, and make that a specialty. You will not 
have to compete with the ordinary canned goods, for 
your products will be better than these. You never saw 
"fancy" goods upon the bargain counter in all your life. 
I have a friend. Miss Elizabeth Emory, of Washing- 
ton, D. C, who has been canning a mixture of okra and 
tomatoes for market for several years. She cans this in 
glass for soups and stews. She began in a small way, 
but now her sales average between five and six thousand 
jars a year. A lady in Richmond, Va., has made a 
national reputation with her * ' Pin Money Pickles. ' ' She, 
too, began in a small way, but now her products are so 
well known and so popular that they can be found almost 
everywhere in the eastern part of the United States. I 
could name many other instances where women have spe- 
cialized and made a success of canning for market. 
Whether it deserves it or not, there is still a charm about 
the word, "homemade," that gives it a preference over 
factory canned goods. I find the greatest objection to 
home canned articles is that they are not usually put up 
in an attractive way. When one sees the home canned 
goods that are often put upon the market it is no wonder 
that they do not sell. Attractiveness is one of the funda- 
mental principles of trade. I remember that Miss Emory 
once came to me and was worried because the wires 
across the tops of her jars became a little tarnished dur- 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 71 

ing the sterilization. It is no wonder that she is succeed- 
ing when she is so careful of little details. Her 
customers know that she will exercise just as much care 
in what she puts into the jar. Have your canned goods 
put up just as attractively as possible. 

There is quite a talent in knowing how to approach 
people. Dress neatly and go to see as many as possible, 
carrying samples of your products with you. You must 
know that you have a better product than the ordinary 
and do not lack confidence in yourself to find a market 
for it. The housewife upon the farm has the advantage 
inasmuch as her vegetables do not cost her anything, so 
her sales will largely be a profit. As a source of income 
for her, there are few opportunities that offer so much 
as canning vegetables for market. 



COLOR AND FLAVOR 

Vegetables, when properly canned, should retain 
their attractive color and lose very little of their flavor. 
I find it almost impossible to detect any difference, either 
in taste or in appearance, between the canned and fresh 
article, when these directions are carefully followed. In 
the canning process of the commercial canning factories 
it is customary to put many of the vegetables under 
pressure and to raise the temperature considerably above 
boiling point of water. Corn is heated up to 240 degrees 
Fahrenheit. During the last few years a great deal of 
investigational work has been done upon the compounds 
known as vitamines. These vitamines seem to be definite 



72 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

chemical compounds that exist, sometimes in exceedingly- 
small amounts, in many fruits and vegetables, as well as 
other foodstuffs. It has been definitely shown that these 
compounds have a great deal to do with keeping the 
body in health. The high heat employed in commercial 
canning has a decided tendency to destroy these 
vitamines. Therefore, when vegetables are properly 
canned at home, they are not only more palatable but 
more nutritious. 



STORING CANNED VEGETABLES 

Any room or dry cellar will be found suitable for 
storing canned vegetables. They should always be kept 
out of direct sunlight. The principal objection to a 
damp cellar would be the rusting of the wire springs on 
the tops of the jars. As the interior of the jar is almost 
a vacuum, even if the jars freeze during the winter, there 
is little danger of their breaking. Have plenty of shelf 
room and some to spare. The spare shelves will be 
found convenient for storing the jars as fast as they are 
emptied. 

HOW TO OPEN A JAR 

Jars of vegetables are sometimes hard to open unless 
it is done in just the right way. If using a spring top, 
run a thin knife under the rubber next to the jar, and 
press against it firmly. This will usually let in enough 
air to release the pressure on the top. In case it does 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 73 

not, place the jar in a deep saucepan of cold water, bring 
to a boil and keep boiling for a few minutes. The jar 
will then open easily. 

With the screw top jars run the knife blade under 
the rubber and loosen it from the jar, or stand the jar 
upside down in a saucepan of hot water for a few min- 
utes. It can usually then be easily unscrewed. It is 
sometimes necessary to pull out a piece of the rubber in 
order to let in some air. 



CAUTIONS 

If the housewife has never had any experience in 
canning, I would advise her to go slow during the early 
part of the season, and can only a few things at a time 
and see if they keep. Allow plenty of time during the 
boiling for the interior of the jar to become thoroughly 
hot, and above all use common sense. 

I recently had a letter from a discouraged housewife, 
saying that she had just canned a great many vegetables 
according to my directions and had lost every jar. For- 
tunately at the end of her complaint she told me that she 
had made an improvement upon my directions — she had 
left off the tops of her jars until they had gotten cold 
and then she had sealed them up. This prevented the 
tops from breaking, she said. Now, this woman was 
doing exactly what I had told her not to do, and her 
letter is a fair sample of a great many that I have 
received. She was trying to follow directions without 
thinking of the ' ' reasons why. ' ' She sterilized her vege- 



74 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

tables thoroughly and then allowed a fresh crop of bac- 
teria to get in and begin work. She will probably use 
preserving powders next time and say that she knows 
from experience that it is impossible to keep vegetables 
without them. Don't repeat her experience. 

I have never lost a jar of string beans, lima beans, 
okra, egg plant, carrots, parsnips, beets or asparagus. I 
had a few jars of peas and corn to spoil during early 
trials and it was from these failures that I got valuable 
experience. Any housewife can do equally as well. Fol- 
low directions until you get your experience and you 
will have no difficulty whatever. It is not a difficult 
matter to can vegetables properly and no housewife who 
once knows the comfort and convenience of a winter 
supply will ever regret the trouble or difficulties experi- 
enced in learning. 



CANNING FRUITS 

While not so essential as vegetables, fruit and fruit 
juices have a definite place in the diet. Owing to the 
fact that most of the common fruits contain so much 
water, their real food value is rather low. However, 
they have a value that is all their own. They aid diges- 
tion and serve in many ways to keep the body in good 
condition. They add acid and flavor, and furnish an 
agreeable variety so necessary to a good meal. 

Since the advent of the modern cold storage plants 
the housewife in the city can go to market and buy fresh 
fruit every day in the year, but it is not so with the 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 75 



housewife on the farm, even if she could afford it. In 
the winter her family is probably more in need of fruit 
than that of her sister in the city, for their diet is more 
apt to be restricted. Nature is so generous in her supply 
of wild fruits and there is usually such an abundance of 
the cultivated varieties upon the farm that quantities 
of them go to waste annually, yet the average family has 
very little in the way of fruit during the winter. They 
are so easily canned that there is certainly no need for 
this condition of affairs. Every housewife has canned 
some fruits successfully, yet few realize the economy of 
storing up and canning in time of plenty for the season 
when everything of this kind is scarce. 

It is not the object of this chapter to teach the house- 
wife the art of canning fruit, for she already knows how, 
but rather to encourage her to do more of it. No long 
list of recipes will be given, but a few which either have 
some fundamental principle involved or represent the 
most economical way of disposing of or saving that which 
would otherwise go to waste. The canning of fruits wall 
be considered, not as a preparation of luxuries, but more 
as a standard article of diet. As there is still a demand 
in most households for some preserves, a few recipes will 

be given. 

The principle involved in canning fruit is exactly 
the same as in canning vegetables, the principle of com- 
plete sterilization. Whether the fruit is sterilized by 
means of heat, as in ordinary canning, or by alcohol, as 
in brandied peaches, or by sugar, as in preserves, the end 
accomplished is the same in every case— the destruction 
of yeasts, molds or bacteria. 



76 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

Most fruits are better flavored when canned with 
sugar, but, contrary to a widespread opinion, sugar is not 
necessary in the canning — fruits will keep just as well 
without it as with it. However, for several reasons it is 
advisable to can all fruits without sugar and to sweeten 
them when used. In this way one can use the fruit in 
any waj^ they may wish during the winter; it may be 
opened and used as stewed fruit, or made into jams, pre- 
serves or sweet pickles. Sugar, too, is usually higher in 
price during the canning season than at any other time 
of the year. 

The old-time preserves that used to grace every pan- 
try shelf are almost a thing of the past, and the sweet 
canned fruits have taken their place. The two reasons 
for the disappearance of the preserves are that they take 
up too much time and too much sugar. Canning is one 
process and preserving is another, and while in both 
eases sterilization is necessary, in canning we rely en- 
tirely upon heat, while in preserving largely upon sugar 
to do the sterilization. If you have plenty of fruit it is 
best to can nearly all of it, and to preserve only a little, 
for preserves can hardly be considered a standard article 
of diet. 

The housewife does not need an elaborate assortment 
of utensils in canning fruit. She can do well enough 
with the things she already has on hand. Plenty of jars, 
a preserving kettle, and the old wash boiler are all that 
is necessary. It has been my experience that many 
housewives often let their fruit go to waste because they 
think they can not afford to buy the jars to put it in. 
This is poor economy, as a fruit jar is more or less a per- 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 77 

manent asset, and should be considered as an investment 
and the initial expense charged up to future years. 
Every housewife with a family should have at least one 
thousand jars for home use. They can be easily filled 
up with the things that ordinarily go to waste, and will 
pay good interest upon the investment. 



APPLES 

Probably no cultivated fruit is allowed to go to waste 
in amounts equal to the apple. Throughout the South 
the summer varieties bear in great abundance, but will 
keep only a few weeks after ripening. These summer 
apples are the most suitable for cooking and, when 
canned, will largely take the place of the winter or 
keeping varieties. There is an almost endless number of 
ways in which apples may be canned or used after they 
have been canned, but only a few suggestions will be 
given which may be enlarged upon by any ingenious 
housewife. 

SLICED APPLES WITHOUT SUGAR 

As summer apples are apt to cook to pieces easily, 
select those that are a little under ripe, peel, remove 
core, cut into small sections or slices and drop into a 
pan of cold water, to which a little salt has been added — 
about one-half teacupful to the gallon. The salt will 
prevent them from darkening and will keep them white 
and fresh looking in the jar. Pack the slices into the 



78 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

jars without rinsing off the salt. Put the rubber rings 
in place, put on the tops loosely, place the jars in the 
clothes boiler upon the false bottom, and bring to a boil, 
and boil for twenty-five minutes. Clamp on the tops 
and remove from the boiler. These may be used with 
cream and sugar or for sliced apple pie, apple dumplings, 
brown Betty, and in a variety of other ways. The sour 
or acid varieties may be sliced with the skins on them 
and canned in this way for frying. 



STEWED APPLES WITHOUT SUGAR 

Peel, remove core, cut into small sections and drop 
into a pan of slightly salted water. In a few minutes 
transfer to a large saucepan or open kettle, add a little 
water and cook to the consistency of apple sauce. When 
thoroughly done, remove from the stove, and put through 
a potato masher or strainer, fill up the jars with the hot 
apples, having first put on the rubber rings. Put on the 
tops loosely. Have the water in the clothes boiler already 
hot to prevent the jars from breaking. Put the jars into 
the boiler and sterilize for thirty minutes. Clamp on 
the tops and remove from boiler. In being prepared in 
this way apples should be heated up verj^ slowly when 
put into the wash boiler, as they are apt to stew out of 
the jars during the boiling. They can be sweetened and 
used for apple sauce, apple float, apple pie or any way 
desired. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 79 



PEACHES 

There are more peaches canned commercially than 
any other fruit, and while freestone varieties are used 
almost exclusively in commercial packing, some of the 
clings are equally as good for home use. There is no 
finer peach for canning or preserving than the White 
Heath. The fruit should not be allowed to get too ripe, 
but should be picked when just beginning to turn soft. 
With the freestone varieties, peel, cut into halves and 
remove the seed. Pack the halves into the jars, cover 
with water, place in the boiler and sterilize for forty-five 
minutes. With the cling varieties, prepare by first rub- 
bing the fruit off with a damp cloth, then run a paring 
knife around it and wring one-half from the seed. This 
is an accomplishment that requires a little practice to 
become proficient in. Cut out the seed from the other 
half, peel, pack into jars, cover with water and sterilize 
as before directed. Canned peaches are often much 
improved by putting one or two kernels in each jar. 

CHERRIES 

Either seed the fruit or not, according to preference. 
Pick over the fruit, wash, pack into the jars, cover with 
water and sterilize for thirty minutes. 

APRICOTS 

Allow the fruit to get thoroughly ripe, as its dis- 
tinctive flavor is developed largely during the latter part 



80 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

of the ripening period. It is usually unnecessary to 
peel off the skins. Open, remove the seed and proceed 
exactly as you would for freestone peaches. 



BERRIES 

Blackberries, blueberries, dewberries, gooseberries, 
huckleberries and strawberries are all canned in much 
the same way. Pick over the fruit, hull or stem it, wash 
in a colander, pack into jars, cover with water and 
sterilize for twenty-five minutes. 

PEARS AND QUINCES 

It is always advisable to can pears and quinces with 
sugar, although they will keep equally well without it. 
Peel and remove the core, cut into quarters and drop 
into a pan of cold water, to which a little salt has been 
added. In a few minutes remove from the salt water, 
pack into the jars, cover with water and sterilize for 
forty-five minutes. 

CANNING FRUITS WITH SUGAR 

Open Kettle Method 

All fruits may be cooked with sugar in a preserving 
kettle and when done transferred to jars and sealed. 
This is not advisable with any except possibly some of 
the smaller fruits, as cooking in this way is apt to make 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



81 



the fruit come to pieces. It is often convenient, however, 
and it is a perfectly safe method to follow. 

Soft fruits and berries require little or no water. 
The amount of sugar to be used for the different fruits 
depends largely upon the individual taste. Below is 
given a table, which probably represents the amounts 
that would suit the average housewife. This is what 
might be termed a light sweetening, and more may be 
easily added if desired. 



Amount of Sugar to Be Used for Each Quart of Fruit 
Apples 1/4 pound Grapes Ys pound 



Apricots 1/2 

Blackberries .... 34 

Blueberries Ys 

Cherries 14 

Crabapples .... i/> 

Currants % 

Dewberries ^ 



Gooseberries 



% 



Huckleberries . . .y^ 

Peaches I/4 

Pears Vt 

Plums 1/0 

Quinces I/2 

Raspberries . . . . i/4 
Strawberries .... 1/2 



BERRIES 

Wash and prepare the fruit, put into the preserving 
kettle, add sugar according to the table, bring slowly to 
a boil, and boil for fifteen minutes. First put the rubber 
rings on the jars, and then immerse them for a moment 
in hot water. Do this carefully to prevent breaking the 
jars. Fill with the hot fruit. Dip the tops in boiling 
water and put them on the jars. Clamp or screw down 
the tops, and if using a screw top jar, stand upside down 
out of a draft to cool. 



82 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



SOFT FRUITS — APRICOTS, CHERRIES, 

GRAPES, PEACHES, PLUMS, 

PEARS AND QUINCES 

Peel or seed the fruit. Put into a preserving kettle 
with a little water. Add sugar according to the table, 
bring to a boil and cook until thoroughly done. This 
requires about twenty minutes for pears and quinces. 
Put in jars and seal as directed. 

CANNING WITH SUGAR IN JARS 

For such fruits as apricots, cherries, grapes, peaches 
and plums and all berries, prepare the fruit, put in the 
jars, add the amount of sugar shown in the table, cover 
with water, put on the rubber rings and tops loosely. 
Place in wash boiler upon false bottom and sterilize for 
twenty-five minutes. Clamp on the tops and remove 
from the boiler. 

For such fruits as pears and quinces increase the 
time of boiling to forty-five minutes. 

GRAPE JUICE 

Many of the grapes that go to waste upon the farm 
every year should be used in making grape juice. This 
can be prepared with very little trouble and may be 
canned either with or without sugar. There are few 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 83 

drinks that are as palatable or as nutritious as cold 
grape juice. 

The juice of the grape contains from 12 to 25 per 
cent of sugar, depending upon the variety. As long as 
the grapes are sound and attached to the vine the juicy- 
interior is sterile, but as soon as the skin is broken many- 
kinds of ferments, principally yeasts, which exist almost 
everywhere in great abundance, drop into the juice and 
begin to break up the sugar into alcohol and carbonic 
acid gas. This decomposition of the sugar by yeast is 
the process of \^dne making, and the process will go on 
as long as any sugar remains in the juice. When all 
the sugar is used up a different set of ferments begin 
work and converts the alcohol into vinegar. So it is 
necessary to stop the action of the ferments as soon as 
possible after the juice is pressed from the grapes. This 
may be done in two ways, by the use of some preservative 
or by heat. A little sulphur is sometimes burned and the 
fumes passed into the juice. This will stop the fermen- 
tation, but it is a procedure that I never recommend. 

It has been proved that all kinds of grape juice may 
be sterilized at a temperature considerably below that of 
boiling water, about 175 degrees Fahrenheit, and that 
the flavor is some better if the sterilization is done at 
this temperature instead of that of boiling water. But 
the housewife seldom has a thermometer that will regis- 
ter this high and must depend upon the temperature of 
boiling water. 

Use sound ripe grapes. Pick them from the stems, 
put into a preserving kettle, crush a few of them and add 
a little water to start the boiling. Bring slowly to a boil 



84 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

and boil for thirty minutes. Crush the grapes and pour 
the contents of the kettle into a clean cloth sack. Hang 
up the sack and allow most of the juice to drain out, then 
twist or press out the rest. Pour the strained juice into 
fruit jars, put on the rubber rings and the tops loosely, 
place in clothes boiler upon false bottom, bring to a boil 
and boil for fifteen minutes, clamp or screw down the 
tops and remove from the boiler. 

This may not be the most scientific, but it is the most 
practical way of handling grape juice. A sediment will 
form in the jars after a while, so when opening the jars 
for use pour off the juice carefully and leave the sediment 
in the bottom of the jar. 

If a wine or cider press is convenient the juice may 
be pressed out of the grapes first, then heated slowly up 
to near boiling point or until it begins to steam, and 
allowed to stand in a glass, enameled or aluminum vessel 
for about twenty-four hours. By this time a greater 
part of the sediment will have settled to the bottom of 
the vessel. The juice may now be poured off through a 
piece of thick cloth, put into fruit jars and sterilized as 
before directed. 

APPLE JUICE OR CIDER 

Put clean, sound apples through a cider mill and 
press out the juice. Strain the juice through a thick 
cloth sack. Put into fruit jars and sterilize for fifteen 
minutes, as described under grape juice. 

The common muscadine and fox grapes that grow 
wild in such abundance throughout the South make 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 85 



excellent unfermented juice. Blackberries, cherries, 
plums and currant juice may also be canned in this way. 
Unfermented fruit juice when opened may be used for 
making jelly. 

QUINCE PRESERVES 

There is no preserve that is finer than the quince, if 
it is prepared with care. You will find that your time 
has been largely wasted if you try to make quince pre- 
serves from inferior fruit. Unless perfect fruit can be 
obtained it is best to use it only for jelly. The imperfect 
fruit can be used for jelly, but even then it is trouble- 
some to prepare and will hardly repay you. The fruit 
should be ripe when used for preserving. With a soft, 
damp cloth rub the quinces clean, peel, cut into quarters 
and core, being careful to remove all the hard, gritty 
portions around the seed. Drop into cold water, to 
which has been added a little salt to prevent discolora- 
tion. As you peel the fruit save all the perfect cores 
and all good skins, rejecting the blossom end. Place 
these in a preserving kettle and add enough water to 
cover them, let them simmer until soft and strain off the 
juice through a coarse cloth. Rinse the quinces in cold 
water, weigh and place them in the preserving kettle with 
this juice. Bring to a boil and boil slowly. Watch the 
fruit and remove the pieces as they begin to soften. 
Spread these on platters, each piece separate as much as 
possible. When all fruit has been removed from the 
juice add sugar, a pound of sugar for each pound of 
fruit, to this juice. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently 



86 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

until the sugar dissolves. Carefully return the quinces 
to the syrup and let cook very slowly. Scald a jar and 
put the rubber ring on the neck, and as the pieces of 
quince turn the desired color dip them out and place in 
the jar. When the jar is full, cover with syrup and 
screw on the top that has been dipped into boiling water. 
Repeat this until all the fruit has been put into jars. 
All the fruit does not cook in the same length of time 
and in this way you will not overcook any and all will 
be done. Stand the jars upside down until cool. 

CHERRY PRESERVES 

The best cherry preserves are made from the sweet 
red cherries, commonly known as sweethearts. When 
the cherries are thoroughly ripe, gather, wash and remove 
the seed. Place the cherries in a preserving kettle in 
layers, sprinkling each layer with sugar, allowing a half 
pound of sugar to a pound of cherries. Put over the fire 
and bring slowly to a boil. When the syrup is rich in 
color and about the thickness of honey, put in jars and 
seal. 

If the sour varieties of cherries are being preserved, 
use three-quarters of a pound of sugar for each pound 
of fruit. 

PEACH PRESERVES 

Cut the peaches in halves, remove the seed, peel them 
and place in a preserving kettle in layers, sprinkling each 
layer with sugar, allowing three-quarters of a pound of 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 87 



sugar for each pound of peaches. Pour in just enough 
water to start the steam, about a cupful is enough, and 
place over the fire. After the sugar has dissolved and 
the syrup formed, let the peaches cook slowly until they 
begin to turn pink. Lift them carefully from the syrup 
and spread upon a platter, each piece separately as much 
as possible. Cook the syrup on until it is about as thick 
as honey. Return the peaches to the syrup and when 
they are as red as desired put them in jars and seal. 

The flavor of the preserve is improved by leaving 
two or three peach seeds in each jar. 

If the peaches are to be preserved whole, peel and 
proceed exactly as for those without seed except allow 
one-half pound of sugar to each pound of fruit. 



PRESERVED TOMATOES 

If the housewife would always plant a few vines of 
the small red or yellow, plum or pear varieties of toma- 
toes, she would never be left without something to pre- 
serve if the other fruit should fail. Even if there is 
plenty of fruit, tomato preserves will make an excellent 
addition. 

Take the ripe tomatoes and immerse them, a few at a 
time, in boiling water for a few minutes only. Remove 
the skins carefully so as not to break the tomatoes. 
Weigh them and put them into a preserving kettle with 
as many pounds of granulated sugar as you have of 

tomatoes. , 

Prepare green ginger root by carefully scrapmg off 



88 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

the skin and shaving it into small bits. Add one level 
teaspoonful of these ginger shavings for each two 
pounds of tomatoes. 

Let the contents of the kettle come to a boil and boil 
for ten minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the syrup 
and spread them upon a flat dish to cool. This will keep 
them from coming to pieces. When cool return them to 
the boiling syrup and boil gently until they are about the 
consistency of honey. Put into jars while hot, adding a 
slice of lemon to each jar before sealing. 

TOMATO MINCEMEAT 

Slice up a quantity of green tomatoes and sprinkle 
well with salt. Put into a bag and hang up to drip all 
night. The salt which is left on the tomatoes will not 
need to be washed off. In the morning take equal 
weights of sugar and tomatoes and cook until the toma- 
toes are thoroughly done. To seven pounds of the mix- 
ture of tomatoes and sugar add three pounds of seedless 
raisins, with mace and cinnamon to suit the taste. Cook 
a short time after adding the seasoning and put into 
jars. This will keep \^athout being sealed and will make 
pies that many consider as good as those from ordinary 
mincemeat. 

PICKLES, KETCHUPS AND RELISHES 

In nearly every garden, upon the approach of frost, 
there are quantities of green tomatoes and green peppers 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 89 

still left upon the vines. The canning and preserving 
for the winter is all over by this time and the housevrife 
can well utilize these in making pickles, ketchups and 
relishes, not only for home use but for the market. The 
last of the ripe tomatoes may be used for making chili 
sauce and ripe tomato ketchup, and the large green ones, 
if gathered and put in a cool place, will gradually ripen 
and may be used on the table, while the small green ones 
may be worked up into mixed pickles, piccalillis and 
ketchups. Wlien properly made, there is a good demand 
for homemade chili sauce, chopped pickles and other rel- 
ishes. I will give a few recipes that will be found suit- 
able either for home use or for market. 

I have a friend, Miss Helen Boyd, of Washington, 
D. C, who a few years ago made the chopped pickle for 
a social club of that city, after the following recipe. She 
received $3 a gallon for it : 

CHOPPED PICKLE 

Chop fine with a knife or run through a coarse food 
chopper : 

14 peck of green tomatoes. 3 cucumbers. 

14 peck of small onions. 6 large red peppers. 

1/4 peck of yellow string 3 cauliflowers, 
beans. 

Place in a brine made by dissolving one pound of 
salt in five pints of water and let set over night. In the 
morning bring the brine, -wath the vegetables still in it, 
to a boil and keep boiling for a few minutes. 



90 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

In a separate vessel bring one gallon of cider vinegar 
to a boil. With a little water make a paste of : 

1/4 pound of ground mus- 1 cup of brown sugar, 

tard. 2 level tablespoonfuls of 

1/4 ounce of tumeric. flour. 

Put this paste, with a half ounce of celery seed, in 
the vinegar and boil until it begins to thicken. Now 
take the vegetables up, drain off the brine, put the vege- 
tables in another saucepan, and pour the boiling vinegar 
mixture over them. Mix well, put in jars, and seal while 
hot. This pickle is best when about the consistency of 
thick cream. If very much water is left in the vege- 
tables in the form of brine it will be too thin. In this 
case use more flour and thicken it. Instead of the cauli- 
flower an equal part of celery or cabbage may be substi- 
tuted. 

A few years ago I was out upon the United States 
Reclamation Project at Fallon, Nevada, and Mrs. F. B. 
Headley, the wife of the Superintendent of the Experi- 
ment Farm, had some tomato relish which I thought was 
excellent, and since that time I have put up a great deal 
of it. This is her recipe : 

TOMATO RELISH 

Scald and skin fifteen ripe tomatoes. Pare, core and 
cut into small pieces six sour apples. Peel five medium 
sized onions. Chop all of these very fine, using a food 
chopper, if you have one. Put into a large saucepan 
with: 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 91 

2 level tablespoonfuls of >^ teaspoonful of cayenne 

salt. pepper. 

3 green peppers or 1 level I/2 pi^^t of vinegar. 

teaspoonful of black 
pepper. 

Bring to a boil and boil slowly for one and one-half 
hours. Remove the vessel from the stove, put the relish 
into jars or bottles and seal while hot. This is mild and 
delicious when served with meats, oysters or vegetables. 

Dr. B. L. Howard, of the Department of Agriculture, 
has originated the following recipe for chili sauce, which 
I think is superior to anything of the kind I have ever 
put up ; 

CHILI SAUCE 

Scald and peel sound, ripe red tomatoes. Chop into 
small pieces bj' pressing through a half-inch screen or by 
running through a coarse meat chopper : 

36 pounds of tomatoes. 10 ounces of ripe bullnose 

2 pounds of chopped peppers (after stems 

onions. and seed have been re- 

moved). 

The bullnose peppers should be hot enough to give 
the proper flavor to the sauce. In case they are too mild, 
a small amount of cayenne should be added. A pound 
of large, sweet, or Chinese peppers, if they can be had, 
will also add richness and color. Put into a granite- 
ware or enameled kettle and concentrate to eighteen 
pounds. Because of the tendency to settle to the bottom 



92 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

of the kettle and burn, it is a good plan to allow the 
tomatoes to stand for a few minutes after chopping, 
during which time considerable juice will separate out. 
This can be poured off and placed in the kettle and con- 
centrated before the rest of the above ingredients are 
added. After concentrating to eighteen pounds, add 
two and one-quarter pounds of cider vinegar and nine 
ounces of salt. 

Concentrate further to eighteen and one-half pounds 
and add six pounds of sugar. Boil slowly five to ten 
minutes. Put into jars that have been washed in boiling 
water and seal while hot. The above quantity will yield 
about twenty-three pounds, or sufficient to fill eighteen 
to twenty pint jars. 

Throughout the boiling care must be exercised by 
stirring to keep the ingredients from settling to the bot- 
tom and burning. This is especially necessary after the 
sugar is added. In order to weigh the contents of the 
kettle at different stages in the process of concentration, 
the weight of the empty kettle should be noted at the 
start. The kettle, with its contents, can then be set on 
the scales or hung on the balance from time to time with- 
out inconvenience, and the weight of the contents easily 
determined. This sauce is not likely to mold ; but, as a 
precaution against spoiling, it is advisable — after filling 
the jars and putting on the rubbers and tops — to place 
them in the clothes boiler and sterilize them for about 
thirty minutes. If this sauce is properly made, it will 
have a bright red color and a rather mild and sweet 
taste. It is good when served with meats, oysters, baked 
beans, etc. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 93 



For those wishing a sauce not quite so sweet, but 
more on the order of a pickle, the following recipe, which 
was given to me by Mrs. P. H. Smyth, of Falls Church, 
Virginia, will be found satisfactory : 

Recipe No. 2 

Scald and peel twenty-four ripe tomatoes ; chop these 
up with two red bullnose peppers, two green bullnose 
peppers and two large onions. Put into an enameled 
saucepan and add : 

4 cups of vinegar. 2 level teaspoonfuls of 

W2 cups of brown sugar. whole cloves. 

2 level tablespoonfuls of 2 level teaspoonfuls of ein- 

salt. namon. 

2 level teaspoonfuls of 2 level teaspoonfuls of 
whole allspice. ground ginger. 

2 level teaspoonfuls of 
ground nutmeg. 

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorch- 
ing, and boil until the sauce begins to thicken. The 
onions will then be well done. This should not take over 
an hour. Remove the vessel from the stove, put the 
sauce into jars, and seal while hot. This will keep in 
wide-mouthed bottles if they are well corked and dipped 
in paraffin. 

TOMATO SWEET PICKLE 

Take one peck of green tomatoes and six large onions. 
Slice, sprinkle one cup of salt over them, and let stand 



94 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

over night. In the morning drain, add two quarts of 
water and one quart of vinegar, boil fifteen minutes, then 
drain again and throw away this vinegar and water. 
Add to the tomatoes and onions : 

2 pounds of sugar. 2 level tablespoonf uls of 

2 quarts of vinegar. ginger. 

2 level tablespoonfuls of 2 level tablespoonfuls of 

cloves. mustard. 

2 level tablespoonfuls of 2 level tablespoonfuls of 

allspice. cinnamon. 

1 teaspoonful of cayenne. 

Boil for fifteen minutes. The allspice and cloves 
should be tied in a piece of thin cloth, which should be 
removed when through cooking. Put in jars and seal 
while hot. 



PICCALILLI 

Slice up one peck of green tomatoes and two quarts 
of onions. Place the tomatoes and onions in a colander 
in alternate layers and sprinkle each layer with salt. 
Let these drain all night. In the morning put into an 
enameled kettle with : 



4 level tablespoonfuls of 4 level tablespoonfuls of 
whole allspice. cinnamon bark. 

4 level tablespoonfuls of 5 red bullnose peppers, 
whole cloves. 2 cups of sugar. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 95 

Press down into the kettle and add enough vinegar to 
cover. Cook until tender. Put into jars and seal while 
hot. 



TOMATO KETCHUP 



It is quite an art to make good ketchup. The toma- 
toes should be of a red variety and thoroughly ripe. 
They should be gone over carefully, and all hard or 
green spots discarded. The boiling should be done as 
rapidly as possible in an enameled, aluminum, or porce- 
lain-lined preserving kettle. Long boiling has a tendency 
to darken the product. With the exception of cayenne 
pepper, which should be ground, whole spices should be 
used whenever possible. Ground spices darken the 
ketchup. 

I have used the recipe given here wdth good success : 
Take one peck of red ripe tomatoes, clean them, put them 
in a preserving kettle, and cook until thoroughly done. 
Mash them through a fine strainer to remove the skin 
and seeds. Add to this eight level tablespoonfuls of 
salt and one level tablespoonful of cayenne pepper. Sus- 
pend in the tomatoes a flannel bag containing : 

2 level tablespoonfuls of 1 level tablespoonful of all- 
black pepper. spice. 

6 level tablespoonfuls of 1 1 e v e 1 tablespoonful of 
mustard. cloves. 

1 level tablespoonful of 
cinnamon. 



96 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

Boil as rapidly as possible until the ketchup begins 
to thicken; then add one quart of vinegar and continue 
boiling until a teaspoonful placed in a saucer will not 
give off any water. Remove the bag containing the 
spices, put the ketchup in jars or bottles, and seal or cork 
while hot. If paraffin is convenient, melt a small quan- 
tity in a saucepan, invert the bottle of ketchup and dip 
the cork and upper part of the bottle neck in it. The 
paraffin will help to keep out mold spores. 

PICKLED CUCUMBERS AND ONIONS 
(UNCOOKED) 

1 gallon of vinegar. 1 pint of sugar. 

1 pint of salt. 

Mix these ingredients thoroughly. As your cucum- 
bers reach the size you like, gather them each morning, 
when still cool, wash them, but be sure they are dry, and 
drop them into the vinegar. The onions may be added 
whenever convenient and in any proportion desired. 
Red peppers improve the flavor, and any whole spices 
may be added that the individual taste may like. Keep 
in a cool place and be sure that the liquid covers the 
cucumbers and onions. This pickle is best after it has 
been standing for about six weeks. 

SWEET PICKLED CHERRIES 

It is best to use the Early Richmond, or some other 
large sour variety. "Wash the cherries, and cut the stems 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 97 



to a half inch or less. Weigh the fruit and put it into 
the jars. For every pound of cherries, weigh out one- 
half pound of sugar. In a preserving kettle put a cup of 
vinegar for each pint of cherries, add the sugar, place 
over the fire, and when thoroughly dissolved, distribute 
it throughout the jars so that each jar will have the 
required amount of sugar. If any space is left in the 
jars, fill it up with pure vinegar. Put on the rubbers 
and tops. Place in the wash boiler on the false bottom 
and sterilize for twenty minutes. 



SWEET PICKLED PEACHES OR PEARS 

For twelve pounds of fruit use four pounds of sugar 
and a pint and a half of vinegar, wnth a few cloves and a 
few sticks of cinnamon. Place all together in a preserv- 
ing kettle. Cook slowly until the fruit begins to get a 
little soft. Dip out the pieces as they soften and fill up 
the jars with them. Cover with the boiling syrup and 
seal. 

BREAD MAKING 

It has been said that more divorces are due to poor 
bread than to any other one cause. This may be an 
extreme view of the case, but certain it is that few house- 
wives can make good bread. By good bread I mean 
wholesome, nutritious bread, and bread that can be easily 
digested. The hot biscuit, so common in the South, are 
good, there is no question about that, if taste alone is to 



98 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

be considered. I ate them regularly for twenty-six 
years, but I don't want to have to do it again. At a 
bleached flour hearing in Washington, D. C, I heard a 
miller from St. Louis say that the Southern housewife 
required only fifteen minutes to get the flour from the 
barrel into her children 's stomachs. My sympathies went 
out to the children, for a few years ago I was one of them 
myself. 

The New England housewife is far ahead of her 
Southern sister when it comes to making bread. She has 
her "baking day," which is unknown in the South, and 
bakes enough at one time to last her all the week. 

It is possible for every housewife on the farm to make 
as good a loaf of bread as that which is turned out by 
the ordinary commercial bake shop. It is not a matter of 
luck, but she can not expect to do this on the first trial. 
It will necessitate repeated efforts with plenty of 
patience, until the skill or so-called technique, is devel- 
oped. 

In this short chapter it is, of course, impossible to 
give full directions, as the baking of bread can not be 
described in a few words, but enough may be said to 
cause the housewife to set out to improve her loaf, and 
the vast majority of loaves are capable of being im- 
proved. Bread making depends largely upon the indi- 
vidual, so practice and exercise patience, there is a reason 
for every step, think what you are doing as you go along 
and watch the improvement in your loaf. 

In this chapter by bread is meant the ordinary risen 
loaf, or bakers' bread. 

Bread is the most important part of the diet, the 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 99 



"staff of life," and the ability to make a good loaf is one 
of the greatest accomplishments a woman can have. Its 
importance as a foodstuff is shown by the fact that every 
man, woman and child in the United States consumes 
about four and one-half bushels of wheat a year, or 
about as much as is required to make one barrel of flour. 
As in all kinds of cookery, there are many of the 
so-called essentials, but probably the most essential part 
of bread making is a good flour. All flours are not suit- 
able for bread making. A flour that will make good 
pastry will not make a good loaf of bread. The quality 
of flour depends absolutely upon the character of the 
wheat from which it is ground, and the character of the 
wheat depends largely upon the locality in which it is 
grown. The strong flours, or those suitable for bread 
making, are made from hard wheats, while the starchy 
flours, or those suitable for pastry, are made from soft 
wheats. In the United States the hard wheats are grown 
in a rather limited area, the best of them, the hard 
spring wheats, such as Blue Stem and Velvet Chaff, com- 
ing from Minnesota and the Dakotas, while hard winter 
wheats come largely from Kansas. The soft wheats are 
grown throughout the Eastern, Southern and Central 
states and in California. 

While not an infallible guide, the housewife can often 
judge a flour by where the wheat was grown and milled. 
While the hard wheats are often shipped out of their own 
locality to be milled, it is a rare occurrence when a soft 
wheat is shipped in and milled in a hard wheat section, 
therefore a flour coming from Minnesota or the Dakotas, 
under a good brand, is almost sure to be a strong flour, 



100 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

and suitable for bread making. On the other hand, a 
flour that is milled in Virginia, for example, is almost 
sure to be a soft flour and suitable for pastry. 

The word ' ' patent, " or " fancy patent, ' ' upon a sack 
means little or nothing so far as the average housewife 
is concerned. She had better try out several brands that 
are available and select the one with which she is the 
most successful. As a general rule, the lower grades of 
flour are more nutritious and will be found just as satis- 
factory as the ' * fancy patent. ' ' 

The strength of the flour, or its ability to make a 
good loaf of bread, depends largely upon the amount and 
quality of the gluten it contains. The gluten is the 
sticky, gummy material that one gets by chewing a few 
kernels of wheat, and it is this gluten that gives wheat 
its superiority over other cereal grains. This gluten is 
the protein that contains the nitrogen and varies from 
18 to 14 per cent in flours. Without some gluten a 
dough would not rise and hold its shape, and this fact 
makes it impossible to make a loaf out of rice flour, for 
example, because rice flour contains no gluten. 

The next essential in bread making is a good yeast. 
Yeast is just as much of a plant as the vegetables that 
grow in the garden and exists in nature in a great variety 
of species. It is so small, however, that it can not be 
seen with the naked eye, and, although it has no roots, it 
grows very much like some of our ordinary cultivated 
plants, that is, by throwing out buds or shoots. It is 
one of the oldest cultivated plants in existence, having 
been used by the Egyptians and other people of antiquity 
long before the dawn of history. In growing it has a 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 101 

peculiar property of using up sugar and forming alcohol 
and carbonic acid gas. The fact that it produces alcohol 
is responsible for its use in the manufacture of whisky 
and beer, while its production of carbonic acid gas makes 
it valuable in bread making. Yeast is used in bread 
making for the same reason that baking powder or soda 
and sour milk are used in other forms of cookery, that is, 
because they liberate carbonic acid gas. It is necessary 
to have a gas mixed into the dough in order to stretch its 
particles apart and make it light. 

Yeast will continue to work as long as it has air, food, 
water and the proper temperature. If left with a lim- 
ited amount of air it sours and will not keep very long. 
However, if it is dried down it becomes dormant and 
may be kept for a long time and becomes the dried yeast 
of commerce. Fresh compressed yeast is always the most 
satisfactory, and in these days of rural mail and parcel 
post, a fresh cake can be gotten by almost every house- 
wife when required. However, dried yeast may be used 
with excellent results, as will be shown later. 

Sugar is added to the dough in order to start the 
action of the yeast. After it has once become active, it 
will secrete an enzyme, which converts the starch into 
sugar, and, if unmolested, the action will continue until 
all the starch has been used up. 



102 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

SHORT PROCESS BREAD 

Proportions for Four Loaves 

1 quart of water. 3 quarts sifted flour. 

4 teaspoonfuls of salt. 1 cake of compressed yeast. 

2 tablespoonfuls of sugar. 

In using the above proportions all measurements 
should be made level. The raising can best be done in 
some thick-walled vessel, such as an earthenware bowl 
or crock. Alwaj'^s have such a vessel warm and buttered 
before putting in the dough. Have the water luke warm, 
between 80 and 90 degrees, and mix into it the yeast 
and sugar. Mix the salt into the flour, and add this to 
the liquid. When all has been added and thoroughly 
mixed the dough should be at the proper consistency, 
and should not stick to the bowl or to the hands. A stiff 
dough will be apt to make a hard loaf. If it is still 
sticky, a little more flour may be added, but as little as 
possible to keep it from sticking. Knead the dough a 
few minutes until smooth. Cover closely in a bowl until 
it has raised to double its original size, keeping at a tem- 
perature as near 86 degrees as possible. The first raising 
\\all take two hours or a little more, work it back and let 
it rise again to double its size, which should take about 
one hour. Then make the dough into four loaves. Put 
into pans that have been lightly greased, cover and set 
to rise. When the dough has again doubled its bulk it is 
ready for the oven. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 103 

The most difficult feature of bread making in the 
ordinar}- kitchen is the control of the temperature while 
it is rising. For the best results a uniform temperature 
of 86 degrees is required ; however, a variation of several 
degrees up or down makes very little difference. It 
should be remembered that the temperature of the body 
is about 98 degrees, so that the dough should always feel 
cool to the hands. Always keep the dough covered, and 
the crock wi'apped either in a heavy cloth or several 
thicknesses of paper. Keep in a warm place that is free 
from drafts or cold currents of air. 

In the control of temperature a tireless cooker is 
often used with very good results. The use of an incu- 
bator, which may be found on almost any farm, has been 
suggested by Miss Hannah Wessling, of the Bureau of 
Chemistry, and will be found practical in many cases. 
The stove oven may also be used, a tea kettle of boiling 
water being placed in the oven wdth the dough to keep 
the temperature even. The yeast plant in growing is 
quickly affected by a change of temperature, and if once 
chilled to 50 degrees, will probably require four times as 
long to do the same amount of work as it would have 
done had it been held at the proper temperature. There- 
fore never let thp dough get cold. Close both doors and 
windows when working over the dough and when form- 
ing it for pans, and have the bread board warm. 

Yeast needs air the same as any other plant, and this 
is one of the reasons for working back the dough. Not 
only is the gas that has already been generated by the 
yeast distributed uniformly through the dough, but oxy- 
gen is worked into it at the same time, which gives the 



104 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

yeast fresh vitality. The large bubbles of gas are broken 
up into small ones, which will give the fine texture to the 
bread. It is a common mistake for the housewife to 
knead her dough too much, fifteen or twenty minutes is 
enough. One can easily tell when the dough has been 
worked enough by its smooth appearance and its spongy 
feel. A well-worked dough is elastic and will rebound 
when struck with the knuckles of the hand. Don't try 
to shape the dough to the pan, the last raising will take 
care of this, but pull out the dough to about the length of 
the pan, fold it over so that the crease will be under- 
neath, and pack it tightly into the bottom of the pan. 

It is a rather difficult matter to tell exactly when the 
pans should be placed in the oven. If allowed to stand 
too long the dough will "fall," that is, the amount of 
gas in the dough will have become too great to be held 
by it, and the dough will break and allow it to escape. 
The pan should be placed in the oven about fifteen min- 
utes before there is a possibility of this happening. At 
this stage in the baking process is where the experience 
of the housewife will be a great help. A safe plan is to 
allow the dough to rise to double the volume it had when 
placed in the pans. This can be roughly estimated by 
making a mark on the baking pan or by pinching off a 
piece of the dough and pressing it down into a warm 
tumbler, measuring its volume, doubling this, and mark- 
ing on the glass the volume to be obtained by the dough. 
Submit this to the same temperature as the dough in 
the pans, and put the pans in the oven when the dough 
has reached the mark. 

The oven should be about 400 degrees. The ordinary 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 105 

household thermometer will not register this tempera- 
ture, but che housewife can get a fair idea by sprinkling 
a teaspoonful of flour upon a piece of white paper and 
placing it in the oven. If it turns light brown in five 
minutes the oven is right for the bread. If baking rolls, 
the flour should be bro\\Ti in three minutes. When baked 
in single loaves the time required in the oven varies from 
forty-five to sixty minutes. 

Contrary to what most people think, the interior of 
the loaf never gets any hotter than the temperature of 
boiling w^ater. 

In a well-regulated oven, after about fifty minutes, 
the loaves will become brown all over and Avill begin to 
shrink away from the sides of the pans. They are now 
ready to come out. Remove them from the oven, turn 
them upside down and shake them out of the pans, and 
set them across the sides of the pans on the edges to 
cool. Do not wrap up the bread until cool, as it will 
sweat and turn sour quicker than otherwise. When cold 
put in a closed bread box or wrap up until used. 



SOFT SPONGE METHOD 

When fresh compressed yeast is not available, the 
housewife must resort to the dried yeast or homemade 
yeast. As has been said before, the yeast plants in this 
form are dormant and do not begin acting on the sugar 
nearly so rapidly as the fresh yeast, therefore it must be 
given more time. As the yeast develops more rapidly 
in a soft than in a stiff dough, it is customary to make 



lOfi ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

up all of the water, sugar and salt and to use only about 
one-half of the flour. This is made up and allowed to 
stand over night, and in the morning the balance of the 
flour is worked in. From then on, the method is exactly 
the same as for fresh yeast. One cake of dried yeast is 
usually enough for four loaves. 

If preferable, the housewife may use milk instead of 
water, or a mixture of milk and water, in either of the 
two methods. The milk should be boiled before using. 
If any shortening is desired, about two tablespoonfuls 
of butter or any other cooking fat may be worked into 
four loaves when the first mixture is made. 



ROLLS 

Many housewives can make good rolls, when they 
nearly always fail on bread. Rolls may be made from 
the same dough that is used for bread, and oftentimes 
the same dough may be kept over from day to day, keep- 
ing it cool over night and working in flour to take the 
place of the dough removed for the daily baking. 

Rolls are better if they have some butter or other 
shortening kneaded into them. Shape out the dough, 
put into buttered pans, and bake in an oven that is little 
hotter than that used for bread. 

There is a flavor to good homemade bread that 
is seldom attained by the professional bakers, and the 
knowledge that it is the product of your own efforts, and 
is clean and wholesome, is worth much. There are few 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 107 

things more beautiful than a well-shaped, brown loaf of 
bread, and when you learn to make one you will take 
great pride in your accomplishment. 



HOW TO MAKE SAUER KRAUT 

Prepare the cabbage as you would for the table by 
removing the stem and outer green leaves. Cut the head 
into quarters, and cut the four pieces into shreds with a 
large knife. Pack the shreds into any water-tight vessel 
that is not made of a material that will rust. A stone- 
ware crock or wooden keg will be satisfactory. As the 
shredded cabbage is packed in, add salt at the rate of 
one pound of salt to forty pounds of cabbage. Add the 
salt as evenly as possible and when the vessel is full, 
pack down firmly and cover with a clean board or plate, 
and cover over the top with a cloth. The salt will 
extract part of the water from the cabbage and form a 
brine, which should cover the cabbage during the fer- 
mentation process. If a scum forms on the top of the 
kraut it should be removed. Be sure to keep the cab- 
bage weighted down and covered by the brine. In cool 
weather it will take about four weeks before the kraut 
is ready to use. 

It is best to make sauer kraut out of late cabbage, as 
this will keep all winter. 



108 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



HOW TO MAKE COTTAGE CHEESE 

The housewife upon the farm often has quantities of 
milk left over, which may be made into cottage cheese or 
schmierkase. 

Skim off the cream and set the milk aside to sour or 
clabber. The cheese will be better if the milk is kept 
cool — about 65 degrees — while this is taking place. As 
soon as the clabber is firm, put it into a saucepan or 
kettle and warm up to about the temperature of the 
body — 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir occasionally and 
keep it at about that temperature for one hour, or until 
w^hey has separated from the cheese. Pour into a clean 
cloth bag and allow the whey to drain off. Cool, add one 
pound of salt to every four pounds of cheese and work 
this in until the cheese is smooth. Now add the cream 
that was skimmed off the milk and work this into the 
cheese. This is not only a delicacy but a substantial 
article of diet. 

HOW TO MAKE MAYONNAISE DRESSING 

Mayonnaise dressing is one of the things often ordered 
in hotels and restaurants, but seldom received, as all 
kinds of dressings are served under the name of mayon- 
naise. 

When properly made and cold, mayonnaise should 
be firm enough to stand up and should resemble some- 
what the consistency of medium soft butter. While 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 109 



very simple, the making of really good mayonnaise is a 
fine art. Olive oil is usually used, but any edible oil 
will do. 

If shaken up together oil and water will not mix, for 
the oil clings together and will not break up into small 
globules, but if some other material, such as soap or 
buttermilk is put in and the mixture shaken, the oil will 
break up and mix with the water This is called an 
emulsion. Mayonnaise is but an emulsion, and in this 
case the yolk of an egg acts as the emulsifying agent. 
As in the case of all other emulsifying agents, the action 
will take place quicker if all the materials are cold. 

Put the yolk of one egg in a plate and rub it smooth 
with a fork. A thick yolk will act much better than a 
thin one. You will find that a three-pronged steel or 
aluminum fork will be better than a silver one, because 
silver is a good conductor of heat and will convey the 
heat of the hand into the egg. Add a little oil and rub 
it quickly into the egg. The emulsion will usually start 
immediately; if it does not, continue rubbing with the 
addition of a few drops of oil until it does. A little salt, 
added from a shaker at this point, will often start the 
emulsion. You can tell when the oil begins to take with 
the egg by the way it thickens up. When the emulsion 
once begins to take there should be no further trouble. 
Add a little more oil and then a little vinegar or lemon 
juice, and work it into the egg. Don't try to work too 
fast, add the oil only as fast as it can be worked into the 
egg, and alternate with an occasional sprinkle of salt and 
a little vinegar. If the dressing shows a tendency to 



110 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

become thin or to curdle, sprinkle in some salt and beat 
quickly. 

One egg is enough for about one-half pint of oil; if 
less oil is used the dressing is apt to taste of the egg. 
When enough has been made, add salt and cayenne pep- 
per to taste. Don't be afraid to use plenty of pepper, 
as the flavor of mayonnaise depends largely upon the 
pungency that is given it by the pepper. 



HOW TO MAKE A GOOD OMELET 

Break three eggs and separate the whites and yolks 
into two bowls. To the yolks add one-half teaspoonful 
of salt, and one heaping teaspoonful of flour or com 
starch. Add enough water to make a smooth paste, 
then one and one-half cupfuls of milk. Beat up the 
whites to a froth, add one level teaspoonful of baking 
powder to the yolks, mix the whites and yolks together 
lightly and pour into a hot frying pan. Have plenty of 
fat in the pan, and cook slowly with a cover on until the 
omelet begins to set ; then put it into a hot oven until 
brown on top. When brown, take out of the oven, turn 
upside down upon a large platter, sprinkle with black 
pepper and fold over. 

An omelet wiW take almost any kind of a sauce. The 
Italians stew tomatoes and onions to a thick consistency 
and pour this over the omelet. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 111 



PRESERVING EGGS IN WATER GLASS 

In the spring, when eggs are plentiful, and there is 
no good market for them, the thrifty housewife on the 
farm often wishes she knew some practical way of storing 
them for the time of scarcity in the fall. There is no 
better or cheaper way of doing this than by the use of 
water glass. Water glass is sodium silicate, which is 
but a fused mixture of sand and soda. It may be bought 
at a drug store for about 25 cents a quart or less, and 
one quart, when diluted, is sufficient to keep twenty-five 
dozen eggs. For every quart of water glass add ten 
quarts of water, mix thoroughly, and pour the mixture 
into a stone jar, filling it about half full at the start. 
Put the fresh eggs into the jar each day as they are col- 
lected. Use only fresh, clean eggs and place them in the 
jar, carefully lowering them in by hand so as not to 
break them. The jar should be kept in a cool place and 
not moved very much after the eggs have been put into 
it, because of the danger of breaking them. The eggs 
should always be covered with the liquid, and if the 
water should evaporate off and leave them uncovered 
more water should be added. If the liquid becomes 
cloudy, it is no indication that the eggs are not keeping, 
for this cloudiness usually takes place. Eggs stored in 
this way may be used just as fresh ones, except that the 
yolks are apt to break easily and are therefore not well 
adapted to poaching. Water glass eggs may be mar- 
keted, but the greatest economy consists in using them 
in the home and selling those eggs that are laid during 
the fall and winter at fancy prices. 



113 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 



HOW TO KEEP WEEVILS OUT OF PEAS, 
BEANS AND POPCORN 

The eggs of the ordinary weevil that is so trouble- 
some are laid by a moth while the crops are still in the 
field, and, as the eggs are sticking to the outside of the 
seed, they may be easily destroyed before they have time 
to hatch out. As soon as the peas, beans or popcorn are 
gathered, put them in a bag and dip them for a few 
seconds in boiling water and spread them out to dry. 
This treatment is advisable for the seed that is to be 
used as food and not for the seed that is to be planted 
next year, 

HOW TO KEEP DRIED APPLES FROM 
DISCOLORING 

When apples are peeled and sliced for drying, they 
discolor, or darken, very quickly. This is caused by 
ferments or enzymes that exist in the fruit and may be 
prevented by dropping the apples in a salt solution. 
Dissolve about eight teaspoonfuls or about one ounce of 
salt in one gallon of water, and as fast as the apples are 
peeled put them into the solution. Take them out, one 
at a time, core and slice them, dropping the slices back 
into the same solution. In one or two minutes they may 
be spread out to dry. It is not necessary to wash off the 
salt, as the little that remains on the fruit will add to its 
flavor. Apples that have not become discolored will 
bring a better price than other^vase. 



ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 113 



HCW TO KEEP SILVERWARE BRIGHT 
AND GLEAN 

While silverware does not rust like iron, it tarnishes 
very readily. This black tarnish is due in a large 
measure to a combination of silver with sulphur or silver 
sulphide. Sulphur is found in coal oil gas, eggs, rubber 
and in many fruits and vegetables. Every housewife 
knows how quickly silver will blacken if left in eggs; 
this is because the sulphur of the eggs is uniting with 
the silver and forming the black silver sulphide. This 
tarnish may be removed either by rubbing it off with a 
silver polish, which is usually some finely divided sub- 
stance like kaolin or white clay, or it may be removed 
by means of a weak electric current. In recent investiga- 
tions in the United States Department of Agriculture it 
has been found that the silver is worn away much more 
rapidly with the silver polish than with the electric cur- 
rent. 

Put the silverware to be cleaned into a graniteware 
or enameled saucepan. Put in a piece of aluminum — 
some old spoon or worn out cooking utensil — so that each 
piece of silver will touch the aluminum, or have one 
piece of silver touch the aluminum and the other pieces 
of silver touch this piece in a way to make contact with 
the aluminum. Cover with water and add a teaspoonful 
of salt and a teaspoonful of either baking powder or 
washing soda for each quart of water. Bring to a boil 
and boil for a few minutes, remove the silverware and 
polish with a dry cloth. 



114 ECONOMY IN THE KITCHEN 

The contact of the silver with the aluminum produces 
a weak electric current which causes the black tarnish to 
leave the silver and to be deposited upon the aluminum. 
This is an excellent way of cleaning silverware that is 
heavily ornamented, as it is almost impossible to get all 
of the tarnish out of the crevices with silver polish. An 
aluminum saucepan may be used, and in that case it will 
not be necessary to put in an aluminum spoon. How- 
ever, never use one that you expect to keep bright and 
clean, for the tarnish that accumulates in it is rather 
hard to remove. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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